National Assembly ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ Sapha Heng Xat Assemblée nationale | |
|---|---|
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
President | Pany Yathotou, LPRP since 23 December 2010 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 149 |
) | |
Political groups | LPRP (144) Independents (5) |
Length of term | 5 years |
| Elections | |
Last election | 20 March 2016 |
| Meeting place | |
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| National Assembly Building, Vientiane, Laos | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The National Assembly (Laotian: Sapha Heng Xat, French: Assemblée nationale) is the unicameral parliament of Laos. The National Assembly meets in Vientiane.
Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party as the sole legal party in the country.[1] Most of the National Assembly's actions simply rubber stamp the party's decisions.[1] Efforts have been made to increase the capacity of its members, aiming to strengthen their legislative, oversight, and representational capacities.[2]
History
The National Assembly was established in its current form by the Lao Constitution of 1991,[3] replacing the Supreme People's Assembly (the latter also formerly known as the Supreme People's Council). After the December 1997 elections, the number of seats were increased to 99, a new structure was announced and Samane Vignaket was elected as its president.
The last elections were held on March 20th, 2016. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) took 144 seats in the enlarged 149-member National Assembly while the five remaining seats went to independents. Nearly 73% of members were elected to the National Assembly for the first time. During the election campaign, many candidates focused on development, promising to serve the interests of the nation and the people.[4]
Committees
Parliamentary committees of the National Assembly currently include:[5]
- Law Committee
- Economic, Technology and Environment Committee
- Planning, Finance and Audit Committee
- Cultural and Social Committee
- Ethnic Affairs Committee
- National Defence and Security Committee
- Foreign Affairs Committee
Latest election
| Alliance | Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lao Front for National Construction | Lao People's Revolutionary Party | 100 | 144 | +16 | |
| Independents | 5 | +1 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 3,657,026 | 100 | 149 | +17 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,733,932 | 97.94 | – | – | |
| Source: IPU | |||||
See also
- List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Laos
- Parliament of the Kingdom of Laos
- Politics of Laos
References
- ^ a b Freedom in the World 2020: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Rowman & Littlefield. 22 January 2021. pp. 633–. ISBN 978-1-5381-5181-5.
- ^ UNDP Governance Support Archived 2008-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Constitution of the Lao PDR
- ^ Union, Inter-Parliamentary. "IPU PARLINE database: LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (Sapha Heng Xat), Last elections". www.ipu.org. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
- ^ National Assembly, 'Status and Roles of the Committees of the National Assembly' Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine