Polls have opened for new National Assembly elections in Vietnam.
The election, open to only members of the Communist Party of Vietnam and a handful of authorised independent candidates, will determine the makeup of a legislature widely perceived as a rubber stamp for the regime.
Independent members of the 500-seat assembly have long been outnumbered by the ruling party, 458 to 42 in the outgoing assembly.
Most independent candidates are selected by state-aligned institutions, but a handful nominate themselves after petitioning their communities and receiving the blessing of a Party-aligned organisation known as the Fatherland Front.
Only 11 candidates out of 162 people who initially nominated themselves have been allowed to run this year, the lowest rate of self-nominees since 1997.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Nguyen Minh Thuyet, former vice chairman of the National Assembly's Culture and Education Committee, said the election was a formality.
"There is no election campaign, and the competition is just formalistic. Voters do not know much about candidates and only a few voters can meet them," he said.
The expected voter turnout was 69 million out of a population of 95 million.
The election council reported a 90 per cent turnout in the 2011 election.
The election results are scheduled to be announced on June 11, with the new assembly to convene in July.
