National Assembly of Laos

National Assembly

ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ
Sapha Heng Xat
Type
Type
Leadership
Xaysomphone Phomvihane, LPRP
since 22 March 2021
Structure
Seats164
Political groups
Lao Front for National Development (164)
Length of term
5 years
Elections
Bloc voting
Last election
21 February 2021
Meeting place
New National Assembly Building, Vientiane, Laos
Website
www.na.gov.la

The National Assembly (Lao: ສະພາແຫ່ງຊາດ, romanizedSapha Heng Xat) 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.

History

The National Assembly was established in its current form by the Lao Constitution of 1991, 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 21 February 2021. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) took 158 seats in the enlarged 164-member National Assembly while the six remaining seats went to independents.

In 2017, construction started on a new National Assembly building, gifted by Vietnam. The construction was completed in 2021.

Committees

Parliamentary committees of the National Assembly currently include:

  • 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

On 1 March the Vientiane Times reported that vote counts had not been finalized yet, but would likely be within the week. The new National Assembly met for the first time on 22 March.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Lao People's Revolutionary Party158+14
Independents6+1
Total164+15
Total votes3,973,017
Registered voters/turnout4,053,15198.02
Source: IPU, Vientiane Times

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-10-29 13:46 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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