‘Free And Fair’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31167, 17 September 1966, Page 15

‘Free And Fair’

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SAIGON, Sept. 15. The most remarkable thing about South Vietnam’s national election last Sunday was that the military Government ran so fairly the balloting designed to get rid of the junta as an institution, Charles Mohr, of the “New York Times” news service, wrote. Mohr wrote:

The junta is made up of men of widely-differing degrees of idealism and personal quality. But even the “worst" of them seemed to realise that a transition from military to democratic government was needed. There was also a feeling, as one American source said, “that the time was very late.”

Major-General Nguyen Due Thang, the Minister of “revolutionary development” or rural pacification, was put in charge of organising the elections. According to a witness, he told one meeting of the ruling generals: “We have to do this right. If we do not, we will never get another chance. The people will never believe us again if this is not a free election.” No evidence has come to light of any serious irregularities, diplomatic sources said. On the whole, the election seemed to be very free and fair.

Th ultimate success of the elections will depend, however, on events which lie in the future. On Sunday the voters selected 117 members of a Constituent Assembly which has six months from September 27 in which to draft a new, democratic constitution for the nation.