Horse trading within Laos' ruling Communist Party appears to have ended, with party chief Choummaly Sayasone

saying after yesterday's legislative election that he was ready to replace Khamtay Siphandone as president and vowing to lead the country out of poverty.

If he becomes president, Choummaly will follow in Khamtay's footsteps, taking the top positions in both the party

and the state.

He took the helm of the ruling party when Khamtay stepped down after the eighth party congress in late March.

"If the National Assembly agrees, I'm ready to take the

position," said Choummaly, who is now vice president, after casting his ballot at a Vientiane polling station yesterday.

Voting alongside Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, the party chief was among 2.7 million voters eligible to cast ballots to select 115 members of the nation's legislative body, which will make laws for the next five years. The members are chosen from 175 candidates.

The election has no direct connection with the presidency and Choummaly did not run in the race.

The new legislature is expect-

ed to endorse Choummaly as head of state when it convenes, likely this month, according to the incumbent president of the National Assembly, Samane Vinhaket.

Samane, who has held the position of house speaker for 14 years, denied speculation he would be picked as the next president of the communist-ruled country, saying he is too old to take any such leadership positions.

"Let someone from the younger generation take the job, as I have already contributed to the nation in my time," the 80-year-old Samane said.

After he is endorsed, it is the duty of the new president to propose a candidate for premier. Choummaly said his party had not yet made any decision about which of his comrades in the party's politburo would replace Prime Minister Bounhang Vorachit.

Diplomats and party sources said Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, who ran in yesterday's poll, is the frontrunner for the premiership, but some observers feel he is too young for the job. The deputy premier is in his late 50s.

The Lao National Election Commission said it would complete counting ballots within a week or so, but no later than May 10. It expects a high turnout - possibly as high as 100 per cent - and hoped to complete the poll without a single invalid ballot.

Party chief Choummaly expected the new legislators - most of whom come from Laos' educated elite - would produce the legal instruments needed to implement the latest plans drawn up by the party to achieve its aim of eradicating poverty and shedding the landlocked country's least-developed nation status.

Deputy premier Somsavat said the constitution authorises the National Assembly to pass censure motions and no-confidence votes against the government as a way of performing its checks-and-balances function.

However, "The parliament has never had to perform this function, as the government fulfils its duty to serve the people and we have many mechanisms to scrutinise the state apparatus to prevent corruption," Somsavat said.

Anurak Vongdara, an 18-year-old student voting for the first time, said she was not completely clear about all the functions of the legislature, but cast a ballot as her village head had instructed her to do so.

"But if possible, I expect them to protect the environment, preserve our culture and develop the education system and the economy for us," she said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

Vientiane