Vietnam Names First Chairwoman Of National Assembly Thursday March 31,2016

Vietnam named a woman for the first time to the influential role of chairperson in its rubber stamp National Assembly today -- the country's fourth most powerful position -- state media said.

Veteran lawmaker and senior Communist Party official Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan was elected with 95.5 % of votes after a poll in the country's 500-strong legislative body early Thursday March 31,2016

Ngan, 61, was selected for the National Assembly chair position in January during the five-yearly Communist Party Congress, which was this year overshadowed by factional fighting.

No other candidates were on the ballot paper and some 472 out of the 484 lawmakers present on voted in her favour

"I would like to thank the National Assembly for electing me," Ngan said after the ballo

"I vow my resolute loyalty to the nation, the people, and the constitution," Ngan, who is from southern Ben Tre province,added

Her appointment means she is the highest ranking female party official.

The majority of Communist Party officials are men, but women are reasonably well represented in the ranks, with around 25 percent of National Assembly delegates being female.

Vietnam is in the midst of a leadership handover after the country's top communist leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, was reelected as party secretary general in January in a victory for the party's old guard.

Reformist Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung lost out in internal party elections and is due to step down next week, when the National Assembly will vote on his replacement

On Saturday April 02,2016, the National Assembly will also elect a new president, expected to be Tran Dai Quang, a police general who rose through the ranks within the country's powerful Ministry of Public Security.