95-year-old voter’s memories of first general election

Pham Van Ca, a 95-year-old resident of Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) - Pham Van Ca, a 95-year-old resident of Hanoi, has never missed a general election since Vietnam’s first in 1946.

On January 6, 1946, Vietnamese people from the north to south voted for the first time to elect deputies to the National Assembly.

Not many people know that the now 95-year-old Ca was one of the first voters to cast a ballot to elect deputies to the first-tenure National Assembly (NA) and People’s Councils in 1946.

Ca recalled the joyful ambience in Hanoi on that day. Panels, posters, and banners were everywhere on Hanoi’s streets and revolutionary songs filled the air.

That was a landmark moment for the Vietnamese people. For the first time, Vietnam had a National Assembly, a legislature to join forces with the government to steer the country forward. These functions were new to all Vietnamese people. President Ho Chi Minh asked all election workers to make sure people understood how important their votes were. Their ballots chose the National Assembly, which set Party guidelines and State policies, Ca recalled.

This year, May 23 was a special Sunday, when Pham Van Ca and nearly 69 million other voters around Vietnam cast their ballot to elect deputies to the 15th-tenure NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure.

Pham Van Ca, 95, was one of the first voters to cast a ballot to elect deputies to the first-tenure NA and People’s Councils in 1946. (Photo: Vietnam+)

From his home in an old apartment building on Hang Tre Street, Ca walked and rested three times on his way to Polling Station No 2 in Chim Non Kindergarten at 42 Hang Tre Street.

Voting began at 7am at some 80,000 polling stations nationwide, electing deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Council at all levels in the 2021-2026 tenure.

The election was a great festival of the nation, a chance for voters to exercise the rights and obligations as citizens in electing capable persons to represent the people’s will, aspirations, and right to mastery in the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels.

Ca said he wanted to go to the polling station by himself without help from his descendants or organisers, since the elections are a great event for the country.

Though he has cast a ballot many times, every time he votes feels sacred.

In the State apparatus of Vietnam, the NA is the highest representative body of the people and the supreme organ of State power of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It exercises constitutional and legislative rights, decides on key matters of the country, and performs supreme supervision over the State’s activities. Over the past 75 years, the NA has been dedicated to working in the national interest, raising the people’s voice, and acting on behalf of the will and aspirations of the people.

Despite his age, Ca still carefully read the list of candidates so he could elect the most deserving representatives to the 15th NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure.

This is the 15th time Pham Van Ca has cast a vote to elect deputies to the NA and People’s Councils. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)

Ca said he always reminds his offspring of their responsibility towards the Fatherland, and that they must thoroughly consider candidates’ action plans and think carefully to vote for those with talent and morals, which is the responsibility and also the right of each citizen.

He also expressed his trust in the younger generation, since they are the future masters of the nation and also the ones who elect talented and moral persons to help the country move forward.

He called on young people, with their great love of their country, to join hands in building the Fatherland and developing Vietnam into a strong and rich nation, in line with the Resolution from the 13th National Party Congress./.