Over 60 million people are eligible to cast ballots for 500 members of Vietnam's National Assembly (AFP, Hoang Dinh Nam)
HANOI — Vietnam voted Sunday in an election officially described as a "great political event" even though the ruling communists were guaranteed to maintain power and the electorate seemed to lack enthusiasm.
More than 60 million people were eligible to cast ballots for 500 members of the National Assembly, widely regarded as becoming more outspoken despite being under communist control.
The assembly will later endorse the one-party state's new government.
People were already arriving to cast their votes shortly after polling stations officially opened at 7:00 am (0000 GMT).
A bank worker, Pham Thanh Thuy, 32, said she only went to the polls because it is compulsory.
"Frankly, I am not at all interested in the candidates who will be elected... it changes nothing for me," she said.
Though technically illegal, many people like Do Thi Dung, 47, cast ballots on behalf of their entire families.
"I don't know who I voted for," she said. "I want to save time to go and do other things."
The official mood, in contrast, was celebratory.
"Go to vote! Go to vote!" a man sang in operatic tones on Hanoi's ubiquitous propaganda loudspeakers.
There has been daily coverage on state television of election preparations, and red banners hang in city streets.
"The whole people are excited and glad, looking forward to the elections," said one banner, while Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the vote would be "a great political event for the people of Vietnam".
The election is part of a five-yearly political ritual that began in January with the party's congress which determined key leadership positions.
Although Vietnam's authoritarian leadership ruled out an end to the one-party system it allows about 10 percent of legislators to be non-party members.
But to make it to the list of 827 candidates, even the non-party members have to go through a process that ensures controversial names are weeded out.
Fifteen candidates are self-nominated while all the rest have been put forward by organisations such as official womens' or veterans' groups, said Nguyen Si Dung, the assembly's deputy secretary general.
Candidates have been screened by the Fatherland Front, a link between the party and the people, and approved by their neighbourhoods and workplaces.
Polling stations display mugshots of those running for office, along with their single-page biographies.
Although the assembly is "the highest representative organ of the people", power resides with the Politburo and a 200-member Central Committee, which were elected by delegates to the January Congress.
The Politburo has already assigned top leadership positions among itself, analysts said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is expected to remain in his post after fending off a challenge by longtime rival Truong Tan Sang, who is forecast to be named president, a largely symbolic post.
Carl Thayer, a Vietnam specialist at The University of New South Wales, said all 14 members of the Politburo are standing for election, which has not always been the case in previous polls.
"They'll all win. Therefore, in the communist view they'll have a greater degree of legitimacy," he said.
Despite its control by the communists, even critics concede the National Assembly has become more vocal. Dung, the assembly official, said he expects the chamber's role in ensuring "transparency and accountability" to grow.
"I'm sure that there is no way to stop that," he said.
Election results are expected in seven to 10 days, with the new assembly likely to gather on July 21 and formally endorse the prime minister and president.
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