October will see the election of a new president by the National Assembly of Vietnam, official media reported on Tuesday. This is the latest high-level shift at an exceptionally turbulent time for the communist nation.
Vietnam’s four-pillar leadership structure comprises the prime minister, the president of the National Assembly, the Communist Party general secretary, and the president as important positions.
Voice of Vietnam, a state-run media outlet, reported on Tuesday that “the National Assembly will complete the presidency position at its regular session in October,” citing sources within the legislature.
After the passing of his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong, last month, the current president, To Lam, was designated general secretary or head of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
Trong simultaneously served in both capacities from October 2018 until April 2021.
Vietnam was a one-party state whose political developments were meticulously planned over decades, with a focus on cautious stability.
However, in recent years, a massive anti-corruption drive known as the “blazing furnace” removed a number of lawmakers and officials, including some of the nation’s most senior authorities, plunging Vietnam into unheard-of political turmoil.
Since 2021, two presidents — Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his successor Vo Van Thuong — resigned as part of the anti-graft campaign, while three deputy prime ministers were also caught up.
On Monday the rubber-stamp national assembly announced three new deputy prime ministers, a chief judge, a chief prosecutor and two ministers.
