1946 North Vietnamese legislative election

National Assembly elections were held in areas controlled by North Vietnam on 6 January 1946.[1] Held under the 1946 constitution, they resulted in a victory for the Communist-led Việt Minh, which won 182 of the 302 seats, although the distribution of seats between parties had been decided before the elections.[2] The ballot was not secret, and ballot papers were filled out in the presence of aides who were "to help comrades who had difficulty in making out their ballots."[3]

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Background

On 8 September 1945, six days after the proclamation of independence, Ho Chi Minh signed decree 14 on the National Assembly elections. On 17 October he signed decree 15 detailing the regulations for the elections;[4] turnout was required to be at least 25% to validate the results,[5] all citizens over the age of 18 had the right to vote, and those over 21 could stand as candidates. On November 11, as an effort to alleviate the fears of a Communist takeover, the Indochinese Communist Party announced its dissolution. However, it remained de facto in existence and in control of the Việt Minh.[6]

Conduct

The elections were opposed by the French colonial authorities and their supporters, and were marked by bombings and misinformation.[7]

Results

According to Ho Chi Minh, voter turnout was approximately 82%.[8] Other sources put turnout at 89%.[5]

Party Votes % Seats
Việt Minh60.27182
Vietnam Democratic Party14.9045
Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng8.6126
Vietnam Socialist Party8.9427
Vietnamese Revolutionary League7.2822
Invalid/blank votes
Total302
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

The first session of the National Assembly took place on 2 March 1946.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p331 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. Nohlen et al., p336
  3. Nohlen et al., p324
  4. Tổng tuyển cử đầu tiên và sự hoàn thiện, phát triển các chế định bầu cử ở nước ta ChungTa
  5. Cuộc tổng tuyển cử đầu tiên năm 1946 - Một mốc son lịch sử của thể chế Archived 2016-06-28 at the Wayback Machine HoChiMinh City University
  6. Jacques Dalloz, La Guerre d'Indochine 1945-1954, Seuil, 1987, p92
  7. 6-1-1946: TỔNG TUYỂN CỬ BẦU QUỐC HỘI ĐẦU TIÊN CỦA NƯỚC VIỆT NAM DÂN CHỦ CỘNG HOÀ Lich su Viet Nam
  8. Những cuộc trả lời phỏng vấn báo chí của Bác Hồ (Phần 2)
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