The selection of candidates for election for the next five year term of the National Assembly is gathering pace as the general election will take place in two months.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, in a meeting with voters from Hanoi’s Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Tay Ho districts on March 8 said "Voters should use their right to wisely choose and elect the most worthy candidates in this important political event."

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (right) met with voters from Hanoi’s Ba Dinh District on March 8

There is a widely-held belief among the public that less than adequate deputies had been elected in previous NA tenures.

Some NA deputies were suspended for lying in their CVs, while others were prosecuted for bribery, or unbecoming behaviour. Voters also criticised some deputies as being a waste of space as they had made no contributions at all during their entire NA term.

According to the Tuoi Tre Newspaper, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the HCM City People's Council told a meeting to review the election progress of the 14th NA on March 4 that the city will propose to the National Election Council to require candidates to the NA and People's Council deputies to enclose their health reports.

This proposal followed news that a candidate standing for the HCM City People's Council was recently found to have mental health problems.

This is, however, is not a new proposal as Deputy Truong Trong Nghia from HCM City had previously made a similar suggestion at the 13th National Assembly meeting in November 2014.

“Health check for a NA candidate should be different from that for a driver," Nghia told the meeting. "It should include mental tests, because a deputy with mental problems can’t fulfil their work over a five-year term."

The country can only develop if it has a smart National Assembly, and voters should be careful when voting for their elected representatives.