Overview
- Voting began nationwide Sunday to fill 500 seats in the National Assembly from a heavily curated slate of candidates.
- Nearly 93% of the 864 candidates are Communist Party members and 65 are independents, according to the national election council.
- About 73.5 million registered voters were expected to take part, Reuters reported, with most polling stations closing at 7 p.m. local time.
- All candidates were vetted and approved by party bodies, and the assembly traditionally endorses decisions made by the ruling leadership.
- Preliminary results are expected around March 23, before the new legislature convenes in early April to confirm state leaders and finalize top posts.