30,26% female deputies elected to 15th National Assembly

The National Election Council (NEC) held a press conference in Hanoi on June 10, 2021 to announce its Resolution on the outcomes of the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly (NA) and People's Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 tenure.

Speaking at the event, Politburo member, Standing Vice Chairman of the NA and Standing Vice Chairman of the NEC Tran Thanh Man emphasized that the elections were a success with a turnout rate of 99.6 percent. The success of the elections demonstrates the collective power of the people and the entire political system under the Party's leadership and State management, and vividly reflects the tradition of patriotism, the power of the great national unity and the people's solid trust in the regime, the Party and State, he stated.

At the press conference in Hanoi. (Photo: DUY LINH/NDO)

In terms of structure, out of 499 deputies elected to the NA, there are 151 female deputies (accounting for 30.26%); 89 representatives of ethnic minorities (17.84%); 47 young deputies under 40 years old (9.42%); 14 non-Party deputies; 203 deputies of the 14th term for re-election or had been a member of the previous term (40.68%); 296 deputies to the NA for the first time (59.32%). The youngest female deputy is Quang Thi Nguyet (1997) of Kho Mu ethnic group (Dien Bien province).

The above results indicate that the proportion of female deputies to the 15th NA exceeds the set target by 30% and is 3.54% higher than the previous term. This is the second time that the percentage of female deputies to the NA has reached over 30% (the first time was the 5th NA with 32.31%).

Moreover, the educational qualifications of deputies elected to the 15th legislature are higher than those of the previous term. Particularly, the percentage of postgraduate qualifications reached 78.56%, 16% higher than that of the 14th term, in which there were 144 doctorates, 248 masters, 106 bachelor's degrees (21.24%).

In addition, according to reports of 63 provinces and cities on election results of People's Councils deputies at all levels for the term 2021-2026 (updated to June 9, 2021), the rate of female deputies is also high, 29% at the provincial level, 29.08% and 28.98% at the district and commune level respectively. This figure has not reached the target of 30% but being an increase compared to the previous term, especially many provinces have gained over 40% of female deputies of the Provincial People's Council such as Bac Kan (50%), Ho Chi Minh city (43.6%), Tuyen Quang (41.81%), etc.