This included about 25 per cent of the territory of Vietnam and about 50 per cent of its
population, though only around 1,000,000 persons were eligible to vote under the restricted franchise. The Government was generally successful against its opposition in a voting turnout of from 60 to 70 per cent. Subsequent developments were disappointing. The election of the provincial councils, held in October, 1953, attracted very little interest, and the provincial bodies never did proceed to the election of a national legislature.