National Assembly (Laos)

National Assembly
ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ
Sapha Heng Xat
Assemblée nationale
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
President
Structure
Seats 149
Political groups

     Lao People's Revolutionary Party (144)

     Independents (5)
Elections
Last election
 20 March 2016
Meeting place
Vientiane, Laos
Website
www.na.gov.la

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. Most of the National Assembly's actions simply rubber stamp the party's decisions. Efforts have been made to increase the capacity of its members, aiming to strengthen their legislative, oversight, and representational capacities.[1]


History

The National Assembly was established in its current form by the Lao Constitution of 1991,[2] 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.[3]

Committees

Parliamentary committees of the National Assembly currently include:[4]

  • 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

 Summary of 30 April 2011 National Assembly of Laos election results
Seats
Lao People's Revolutionary Party (Phak Paxaxôn Pativat Lao) 128
Non-partisans 4
Total 132

See also

References

  1. ↑ UNDP Governance Support Archived 2008-07-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Constitution of the Lao PDR
  3. ↑ Union, Inter-Parliamentary. "IPU PARLINE database: LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (Sapha Heng Xat), Last elections". www.ipu.org. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  4. ↑ National Assembly, 'Status and Roles of the Committees of the National Assembly' Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine.
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