 Diệm's regime had announced that 5,335,668 people were eligible to vote, but when the results were declared, there were 5,784,752 ballots. Diệm's government claimed his candidacy had been endorsed by the mother of Bảo Đại, although Diệm had ordered the military to confiscate her family's property and evict her from the land. The near unanimous voter turnout and support for Diệm was replicated in highland and Mekong Delta swamp areas, which were not even under the control of the government and its Vietnamese National Army. In some districts of the Mekong Delta, overwhelming tallies for Diệm in excess of 90 % of the registered voters were recorded, even though the Hòa Hảo warlord Ba Cụt and his army had prevented voting.
