(From AFP)
Communist Vietnam named a woman for the first time to the influential role of chairperson in its rubber stamp National Assembly Thursday — the country’s fourth most powerful position — state media said.
Veteran lawmaker and senior Communist Party official Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan was elected with 95.5 percent of votes after a poll in the country’s 500-strong legislative body early Thursday, state-run VTV said.
“I would like to thank the National Assembly for electing me,” Ngan said after the ballot, which was broadcast on VTV.
“I vow my resolute loyalty to the nation, the people, and the constitution,” Ngan, who is from southern Ben Tre province, added.
Ngan, 61, was selected for the National Assembly chair position in January during the five-yearly Communist Party Congress, which was this year overshadowed by factional fighting.
No other candidates were on the ballot paper and some 472 out of the 484 lawmakers present on voted in her favour, VTV said.
Her appointment means she is the highest ranking female party official.
The majority of Communist Party officials are men, but women are reasonably well represented in the ranks, with around 25 percent of National Assembly delegates being female. Read more