Two major events in the Lao political calendar took place in March and April: the ninth congress of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), which was followed by elections for the National Assembly (parliament). Neither event produced any surprises-they confirmed both the dominance of the LPRP over Lao politics and the apparent acceptance of this by the majority of the population.

At the congress, which was held in the capital, Vientiane, on March 17th-21st, the previous prime minister, Bouasone Bouphavanh, lost his positions in the party's politburo and central committee, completing his fall from the top echelons of leadership-at least for now. Meanwhile, Bouasone's successor, Thongsing Thammavong, reinforced his position: the retirement from the politburo of two veterans, another former prime minister, Sisavat Keobounphanh, and a former president of the legislature, Saman Viyaketh, in effect leaves Thongsing as second only in terms of power to the president, Choummaly Sayasone. As expected, Choummaly was re-elected as general secretary of the LPRP. Another stalwart, a former interior minister, Asang Laoly, stepped down as president of the LPRP inspection committee, but retained his position in the politburo. Like Saman and various other party veterans, Asang has children rising through the system, in his case within his old fiefdom, the Ministry of Public Security.

At the congress the newly elected LPRP central committee announced four "breakthrough steps" to accelerate national development. Although the first of these was an ideological call to banish "complacency and extremism", the others were more tangible. They aim to increase investment in health and education, to reform administrative barriers to business and trade, and to establish investment incentives in rural areas in order to address poverty. None of these goals are new, but as official party directives, they may add momentum to government efforts.

The legislative election was held on April 30th, with 190 candidates contesting 132 seats in parliament, compared with 115 seats in the previous assembly. In June the assembly will be expected to approve the government positions that were decided at the congress. The poll resulted in the elevation of four non-LPRP candidates to the assembly, all of whom are representatives of private companies. This compares with the election of two non-party legislators in the previous poll. The election day itself passed smoothly, with a high turnout and a celebratory mood in many wards. The prime minister endorsed the government's hope that women would take 30% of the seats in the assembly, but the results showed that 33 female lawmakers were elected, representing just 25% of the seats.