Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid a working visit to the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on April 14-15 to inspect the implementation of socio-economic development tasks and preparatory election work in the locality.

General Secretary Trong praised joint efforts by the local Party organisation, authorities and people of ethnic minority groups to gain remarkable achievements in socio-economic development, maintenance of political security and social order, as well as good preparations for the elections to the 13th National Assembly and the People’s Council for the 2011-2016 period.

He asked local Party committees of all levels and authorities to apply Party and State policies to the situation of the Central Highlands , especially land and management and use, forest protection and planting, and irrigation and hydropower, and to ensure adequate income and living conditions for labourers in the locality.

Together with strictly executing financial policies and reducing expenditure, the province should pay more attention to the practice of thrift and fighting waste, Trong said.

To ensure political security and social order and safety, he stressed the need for the province to build firm and long-term community-based roots, develop infrastructure and improve people’s material and spiritual lives.

In the first quarter of this year, Dak Lak earned over 4.8 trillion VND (228 million USD) in GDP, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

It also earned an export turnover of 150 million USD in the first three months of the year.

All of the districts and towns in the province have reached the standard for junior high school attendance, while all villages and hamlets have medical workers.

The province almost completed solving problems of land for housing and production and safe water for people of ethnic minority groups. The number of poor households also reduced markedly.

The province also carried out dissemination of information regarding the upcoming NA and People’s Council elections and encouraged all people to vote.

Dak Lak has over 1.1 million voters who will vote for 9 NA deputies, 85 deputies for the provincial People’s Council, 560 deputies for the district People’s Council and 5,512 deputies for the communal and ward People’s Council.

The second consultative round in the province introduced 13 candidates for the 13th National Assembly, 142 candidates for the provincial People’s Council, 915 others for the district People’s Council, and 8,800 for the communal and ward People’s Council.

Dak Lak is located in the heart of the Central Highlands . The province covers over 13,000 sq. km with a population of over 1.7 million of 41 ethnic groups. People of ethnic minority groups make up 33.4 percent of the population.

Local people follow three major religions: Buddhism, Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) and Caodaism./.