Voter turnout hits over 93% as of 16:00 on March 15

A total of 71,392,498 out of 76,609,388 voters nationwide had cast their ballots as of 16:00 on March 15, representing a turnout of 93.19%, member of the National Election Council and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh told reporters at the Election Press Centre in Hanoi.

Thanh reported that five out of 34 provinces and cities recorded turnout rates close to 100%, led by Tuyen Quang at 99.86%, Lao Cai 99.81%, Lang Son 99.3%, Dien Bien 99.23% and Lai Chau 99.2%.

Meanwhile, 18 localities posted turnout above 95%, including Da Nang (98.71%), Ha Tinh (98.7%), Cao Bang (98.22%), Thai Nguyen (98.17%), Quang Ninh (98.08%), Son La (97.98%), Hue (97.86%), Vinh Long (97.77%), Ca Mau (97.76%), Dak Lak (97.44%), Quang Tri (97.38%), Can Tho (97.27%), Nghe An (96.92%), Gia Lai (96.42%), Phu Tho (96.27%), Ninh Binh (95.14%), Quang Ngai (96.14%) and Thanh Hoa (95.72%).

Nine cities and provinces registered turnout above 90%, including Hai Phong (94.88%), Khanh Hoa (93.93%), Dong Thap (93.92%), Lam Dong (93.32%), An Giang (92.61%), Bac Ninh (91.66%), Dong Nai (91.12%), Hung Yen (90.44%), and Hanoi (90.36%).

Only two localities fell below 90% turnout as of 16:00, with Tay Ninh at 89.95%. Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s most populous electoral area, recorded 7,663,467 out of 9,569,117 registered voters by the same time, equivalent to 80.07%.

For elderly voters, those with disabilities or those who are ill and unable to travel to polling stations, mobile ballot boxes were deployed to enable them to exercise their voting rights.

As of 16:00 on March 15, the Reputa Cyber Space Centre under Viettel reported that 5,261 news articles and reports on the election had been published by domestic newspapers, magazines, information portals and online platforms.

The vote drew extensive coverage from international outlets, including China’s Xinhua, the UK’s Reuters, the US’s Bloomberg, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Australia’s ABC News, Cuba’s Prensa Latina, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, the US’s Associated Press, France’s France 24 and Radio France Internationale, India’s The Hindu, Thailand’s Bangkok Post and several others.

In areas entitled to early voting, turnout reached 99.87% by the close of the early voting period at 19:00 on the designated day, with 37,008 out of 37,057 eligible voters participating. Many mountainous communes and special zones completed their voting ahead of the main Election Day, according to Vice Chairwoman Thanh./.