Legislative election results expected within days in Laos

The tallying of votes continues in Laos for national and provincial legislative elections with official announcement of successful candidates expected in coming days, local media reported Tuesday.

While some provinces had already posted preliminary results from the March 20 polls, it would take further days elsewhere due to logistics impacting collection from remote areas and the country's 38 diplomatic missions abroad, state-run media Vientiane Times quoted National Election Committee Spokesman Dr Koukeo Akkhamonty as saying on Monday.

Some 4 million Lao citizens including more than 2 million women aged 18 and over were eligible to vote in the polls for national and provincial representatives in the South-East Asian country of some 6.4 million.

A total sum of 149 members out of 211 candidates are set to be elected to five-year terms in the Lao National Assembly's Eighth Legislature, whose responsibilities include ratifying applications for state office and actively monitoring executive and civil service performance.

A further 360 will be elected from 508 candidates to serve in respective Provincial People's Assemblies across the country's 18 constituencies including capital Vientiane. Enditem