1956 South Vietnamese Constitutional Assembly election

President Ngo Dinh Diem casting his vote on election day

Constitutional Assembly elections were held in South Vietnam on 4 March 1956.[1] A total of 431 candidates contested the 123 seats from all five registered pro-government political parties, with 11 elected as pro-government independents. Edward Miller notes that the election was relatively free and fair in comparison to 1955 referendum, as independent and opposition candidates were allowed to contest the seats and opposition campaigns were allowed. However, campaign materials had to be screened, and the government was allowed to suspend candidates on the basis of their links with Viet Minh and other rebel groups.[2] Two deputies were not permitted to take seats due to electoral violations, making the total number of deputies seated at 121.[3] On 26 October the body was transformed into the National Assembly after the new constitution came into effect.[3]

Electoral system

The 123 members of the Constitutional Assembly were elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies. Candidates were not required to be residents of the constituencies in which they ran. Most constituencies were roughly equal in population, although Saigon was only allotted seven seats (6% of the total) despite being home to about 14% of the national population.[4]

Results

Party		Seats
	National Revolutionary Movement	61
	Citizens' Assembly	25
	Revolutionary Labor Party	15
	Movement to Win and Preserve Freedom	8
	Dai-Viet Progressive Party	1
	Pro-government Independents	11
Vacant		2
Total		123
Source: Secretary of State for Information, Republic of Vietnam

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p331 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
2. Miller, Edward (2013). Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam. Boston: Harvard University Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-674-07298-5.
3. Nohlen et al., p334
4. Scigliano, Robert G. “The Electoral Process in South Vietnam: Politics in an Underdeveloped State.” Midwest Journal of Political Science 4, no. 2 (1960): 138–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/2108705.