Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part-V-B-4-Book-I.djvu/305

Declassified per Executive Order 13526, Section 3.3 NND Project Number: NND 63316. By: NWD Date: 2011  D.

President Diem and Vice President Tho were returned to office for another five years by an outstanding majority (89 percent) of the vote cast in the presidential and vice presidential elections of April 9, 1961, the first under Vietnam's constitution. However, rather than constituting an accurate barometer of support for the national leadership, Diem's easy victory at the polls was due largely to the overwhelming advantages accruing from his utilization of the vast government bureaucracy, including the military and security establishments, the virtual political nullity of the opposition candidates, and the failure or inability of the Communist network to exercise its maximum armed and other subversive capabilities during the electoral period.

There is no reliable evidence of extensive government interference in the actual voting or manipulation of the ballots, and Diem made considerable effort to give impression that the elections were free. Among other things, he permitted extensive coverage and observation of the campaign and of the voting by foreign and Vietnamese correspondents, campaigned extensively even in provinces where Communist activities were fairly intensive (partly in order to show that he was actively seeking the office), and reportedly instructed his officials and agents to concentrate their efforts on an effective campaign and on providing adequate internal security during the voting rather than on intimidating the opposition candidates. This may have been due to Diem's expectation of an easy victory and to his desire to counter Western criticism of his authoritarian rule. Nevertheless, the elections were obviously closely controlled by the government. The national and local bureaucracy, including the almost 300,000 military, police, and security personnel, the equally large political party apparatus, and the propaganda media, including the government-controlled radio and press, were monopolized by the government in waging its campaign, instructing the voters how and apparently for whom to vote and seeing to it that the voters actually voted.

Rh