2026 Vietnamese legislative election

2026 Vietnamese legislative election

15 March 2026

All 500 seats in the National Assembly
251 seats needed for a majority
Turnout99.70%[1] 0.10 pp
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Tô Lâm
Party Communist Party Independents
Alliance Fatherland Front Fatherland Front
Leader since 18 July 2024[a]
Last election 485 14
Seats won 482 18
Seat change 3 4

Prime Minister before election

Phạm Minh Chính
Communist Party

Elected Prime Minister

TBD

Legislative elections were held in Vietnam on 15 March 2026.[2][3] Early elections were held in the islands of the South Central Coast, Mekong Delta and Southeast regions from 26 February 2026.[4][5][6][7]

The new parliament being elected in this election, to be the 16th National Assembly of Vietnam, will appoint its own chairperson before voting for the new President, the new Prime Minister and his cabinet, alongside other key state positions.

The results were announced on 21 March 2026, paving the way for the 16th National Assembly's inaugural session, which is scheduled to convene in early April 2026.[8]

Electoral system

The members of the National Assembly are elected from 184 multi-member constituencies using the two-round system, with a maximum number of 500 candidates to be elected. Block voting is used, with each district having two or three seats.[9] Candidates have to receive at least 50% of the vote in the first round to be elected, with a second round hold on a plurality basis.[10]

Background

All participating candidates and elected members are expected to be nominal members of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. Meanwhile, for the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the incumbent General Secretary of the Central Committee was Tô Lâm. After multiple rumors and speculations, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam ultimately confirmed Tô Lâm to stay as the Party General Secretary for the next term, alongside the new Central Committee and Politburo, effectively platforming the Vietnamese political orientation for the 2026–2031 term.[11]

Candidates

A total of 864 candidates from 182 constituencies contested for 500 seats in the election, of which nearly 93% came from the CPV while 7.5% were independents.[12]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Communist Party of Vietnam482–3
Independents18+4
Total5000
Total votes76,198,214
Registered voters/turnout76,423,94099.70
Source: National Election Council (1), National Election Council (2), Vietnam.vn

Notes

  1. ^ Acting: 18 July – 3 August 2024

References

  1. ^ "KẾT QUẢ BẦU CỬ ĐẠI BIỂU QUỐC HỘI KHOÁ XVI" (PDF) (in Vietnamese). Hội Đồng Bầu Cử Quốc Gia (National Election Council). 21 March 2026. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  2. ^ "NA approves shortened term, sets 2026 election date". Viet Nam News. 21 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Vietnamese National Assembly sets election date for new term". Xinhua. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Ho Chi Minh City ready for early election for 16th NA, People's Councils". Báo Lạng Sơn. 25 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Ho Chi Minh City: Early elections held at the 2nd Naval Region". vietnam.vn. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  6. ^ Bùi Toàn, Đức Thu, Ngọc Tài, Đắc Thành (8 March 2026). "Đặc khu Trường Sa, Thổ Châu, xã biên giới bầu cử sớm" [Trường Sa Special Zone, Thổ Châu, border communes hold early elections] (in Vietnamese). VnExpress. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Chanh Đa (10 March 2026). "Cà Mau: Từ đảo Hòn Chuối, cử tri phấn khởi hướng về Ngày hội non sông" [Ca Mau: From Hòn Chuối Island, voters enthusiastically look forward to the National Day celebration]. Vietnamplus.vn (in Vietnamese). Vietnamplus. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Công bố kết quả bầu cử Quốc hội khóa 16 vào ngày 23/3". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). 9 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Two How Elections Work in Vietnam". United Front. 2021. pp. 49–66. doi:10.1515/9781503614758-005. ISBN 9781503614758. S2CID 240967678.
  10. ^ "Viet Nam (Quoc-Hoi), Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Vietnam's To Lam re-elected Party General Secretary". VnExpress. 22 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Vietnam holds general election, 93% candidates from ruling Communist Party". Al Jazeera. 15 March 2026.