Geopolitical context and legal challenges of early democracy
In the history of world constitutional law, few elections have taken place right in the fierce battlefield like the first General Election of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in early 1946. If the North faced political pressure from the Jiang Kai-shek army and the opposition party, the South had to face direct gunfire from the French expeditionary army. January 6, 1946 in the South became a vivid proof of the aspiration for independence, where voter votes were also soaked in the blood and bones of the people and security forces.
Immediately after the August Revolution was successful, the Provisional Government determined that the General Election was an urgent task to legitimize the State government before the international community and the people of the country. Decree No. 14 dated September 8, 1945 and Decree No. 51 dated October 17, 1945 created a basic legal corridor for the universal suffrage process. However, the actual situation in the South was complicated beyond the usual expectations of the democratic process. French troops opened fire and occupied Saigon from September 23, 1945 and expanded the scope of occupation to many southern and south-central provinces. Therefore, the vote in this area was of a special nature: both exercising citizen rights and conducting resistance to protect sovereignty.
The election preparation work in the South took place under enormous military pressure from the French colonialists. Colonel Cedile, a member of the French Republic in the South, and the military apparatus took all measures from psychological warfare to force to sabotage the election, considering this an act of challenging the power of the "motherland". French aircraft continuously circled, spreading leaflets threatening to destroy anyone participating in voting for the Viet Minh. Faced with this situation, the Southern Administrative Committee was forced to flexibly switch the method of organization from public to secret or semi-public. The candidate list could not be widely posted in the enemy-occupied area but had to be word-of-mouth propaganda or leaflets distributed at night by officials. Unlike the summer atmosphere in the North, the election in the South bears the colors of a special military campaign, where ballot boxes became targets to be protected like warehouses and ammunition.
In Saigon - Cho Lon, the brain center of the French war machine, the vote took place in the form of creative and courageous guerrillas. The organizing force did not set up a fixed ballot box but used mobile ballot boxes. Officials brought ballot boxes to each household, swerving through the densely guarded system of spies and legions. Saigon voters exercised their rights in a state of willingness to sacrifice. Many traders, boatmen, and intellectuals secretly voted and then quickly evacuated or returned to their daily routines to blind the enemy. In the Tan Binh area, self-defense forces organized many battles to intercept the enemy right on the streets to divert and create local safe space for the election team to move.
The fierceness of the election is clearly shown through the casualties of the organizing forces and voters. Historical documents of the Southern Party Committee record 42 cadres and soldiers who died on January 6, 1946 in the Saigon - Cho Lon area while on duty protecting ballot boxes. The image of a soldier falling but still holding the ballot box tightly to protect the election results has become a tragic symbol of Vietnamese constitutional history. Their blood has flowed not on the military trench but on the political front, affirming the iron determination of the people of the South in building a republic.
Not only in large cities, the situation in localities such as Ben Tre and Khanh Hoa is also extremely tense. In Nha Trang, where the French army is tightly besieging, voters and armed forces have turned the election into a large-scale cross-country election. Thousands of people from the temporarily occupied area secretly crossed rivers and forests to go to the free-to-vote area. In the trenches, soldiers take turns leaving their combat positions for a moment to fulfill their civic duties, then immediately return to hold guns. Votes placed next to rifles become a highly symbolic image, blurring the line between political interests and national duties.
Political victory and the establishment of national legitimacy
The election results in the South have caused great surprise for international observers and colonial authorities. Despite bombs and bullets and suppression, the voter turnout in most provinces and cities reached a high level, especially in some places reaching over 90%. This reflects the complete failure of the "stabilization" strategy applied by the French colonialists. Southern voters chose delegates who are typical intellectuals, with great prestige and a passionate patriotism. The winning list includes big names such as: Ton Duc Thang, Pham Ngoc Thach, Huynh Tan Phat... The elected composition shows that the great national unity bloc is solid, gathering from workers, farmers to intellectuals, national bourgeoisie, with the common goal of fighting for independence.
The successful organization of the General Election in the South has strategic significance far beyond the framework of internal affairs activities. The event shattered the propaganda argument of the French colonialists about the Viet Minh not having the support of the Southern people. The voting results are the most authentic evidence of the will to unify the country, rejecting all plots to divide South Korea from Vietnamese territory. The election provided a solid legal basis for the resistance war. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from here is no longer an autoproclaimed interim government but a Constitutional Government, elected by the entire people, with full legal status to represent the nation on the international stage.
Looking back at the history of January 6, 1946, it can be affirmed that Southern voters wrote a page of constitutional history with blood and courage. Our people have turned ballots into weapons, turned ballot boxes into fortifications, affirming the sacred right to self-determination of the nation. The General Election in Southern Vietnam not only completed the State apparatus but also cultivated the political bravery of the people, preparing a solid mindset for the long-term resistance war 9 years later. This event left a profound lesson about the strength of the people's hearts, proving that when the will for independence is deeply ingrained in the subconscious, no tyrannical violence can subdue.
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