Candidates have begun competing to win public votes for seats in the National Assembly and Provincial People’s Councils in elections throughout the country.
According to a report by Lao Post, the election for representatives at the National Assembly’s 9th Legislature is scheduled for 21 February.
There are a total of 224 candidates, including 49 women, from all 18 constituencies to represent the people in parliament. Young and middle-aged candidates are making a larger proportion of those standing for election this time, as the government encourages the younger generation to take more roles in state posts.
The National Election Committee said 4.3 million voters across the country will vote for 164 MPs.
Many of the candidates are newcomers, with just 43 members of the current legislature standing for re-election. Almost half of the candidates are aged 46 to 55, another 33 are under the age of 46, 76 are aged 56 to 60, and 12 are older than 60, Vientiane Times reports.
In addition to the National Assembly, 789 candidates including 227 women are standing for election to Provincial People’s Councils.
Elections for NA candidacy take place every five years, as well as the Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.
