VietNamNet Bridge – Officials in provinces and cities across the country have begun casting votes of confidence in their local leaders as People's Council meetings began convening this week.

The casting of votes of confidence is being conducted for the first time this year in all localities following a resolution ratified by the National Assembly last year.

At the 6th session of the People's Council's 10th tenure in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum that ended yesterday, July 3, the voting procedure was accomplished in a cautious and serious manner, according to the local Vietnam News Agency correspondent.

Fourteen leaders, including the provincial People's Committee chairman and deputy chairmen, were subject to the vote, which had three different degrees: high confidence, confidence and low confidence in the work performance of each.

The provincial People's Council's Standing Committee later said the results would help leaders with "low confidence" votes to strive to better fulfill their duties.

The results were also announced at the local meeting of the central Quang Ngai Province on Tuesday, with the highest rate of high confidence votes (75.4 per cent) given to the provincial People's Committee Deputy Chairman Le Quang Thich, and the second rank to the Chairman of the provincial People's Council Pham Minh Toan.

Director of the provincial Home Affairs Department Tran Van Thanh received the lowest high confidence rate (28.3 per cent).

The procedure is ongoing in other provinces and cities, with the outcomes expected to be announced soon.

The central Da Nang City's Party Committee has issued a directive requiring relevant bodies and local leaders to strictly follow the regulations of confidence votes.

It also bans lobbying for votes.

The State's former vice president Nguyen Thi Binh recently told local media that the casting of votes of confidence at local People's Councils held a significant meaning, since the voted leaders were those working most closely with people.

In another development, National Assembly deputies have met with voters to discuss their concerns over national and local matters.

In the central Binh Thuan province, voters expressed their delight at confidence votes conducted at the NA meeting last month. They said it had demonstrated high responsibility in the supervision of the Assembly and aspiration of voters towards their elected leaders.

Regarding the revision to the Land Law, some voters have suggested the State increase the time for land ownership to farmers and take due heed to ensure the benefits of farmers whose land was revoked.

In southern Tien Giang Province, voters asked the Government to further curb the price of materials used in farm production and to improve the loan rate for students of needy families while putting more priority on developing infrastructure in remote and far-flung areas.

Source: VNS