News

Vietnam votes in new National Assembly head

May 20, 2024

102 2 minutes read

Vietnam votes in new National Assembly head AFP | May 20, 2024 02:40 PM IST

Vietnam votes in new National Assembly head

Vietnam's rubber stamp National Assembly voted in its new chairman on Monday, after the previous head stepped down after getting swept up in a corruption crackdown.

Tran Thanh Man, 61, is now one of the Southeast Asian country's four most powerful leaders after a unanimous vote.

Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India's general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!

"It is a huge honour… I will devote myself to serving the people," he told the assembly after the vote.

Thousands of people including top officials and senior business leaders have been caught up in Vietnam's "blazing furnace" anti-graft campaign, led by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Man, previously the assembly's deputy chairman, succeeds Vuong Dinh Hue, who stepped down last month because of "violations and shortcomings", according to the party.

He has not yet served a full term in the politburo, after joining in 2021, which is unusual for a top leader in Vietnam.

According to Nguyen Khac Giang, visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, that will mean he has "less authority to really assert his influence over the National Assembly".

By comparison, his predecessor "was a very strong chairman… He confronted the government, he initiated many ideas and he forced the government to be accountable in some cases," Giang told AFP.

The Communist Party on Saturday nominated public security minister To Lam to be the country's new president after his predecessor also resigned.

Vo Van Thuong stepped down in March after just one year in the job, and Lam will likely be confirmed as president on Wednesday.

The political upheaval is highly unusual in Vietnam, where for years all changes were carefully orchestrated with an emphasis on cautious stability.

On Thursday, another influential politburo member resigned. Truong Thi Mai was the permanent member of the secretariat in the central party committee the most important position in Vietnamese politics outside its four-pillar leadership structure.

With the resignation of Mai, the once 18-strong politburo fell to 12 after also losing two presidents, the National Assembly chairman, a deputy prime minister and the head of the party's economic commission in the past 18 months.

However, the party appointed four new members shortly afterwards, including Bui Thi Minh Hoai, who replaced Mai as the only woman in the politburo.

bur/pdw/tym

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Tell us what your First Vote will stand for in a short video & get a chance to be featured on HT’s social media handles. Click here to know more!
Get Current Updates on India News, Elections 2024, Lok sabha election 2024 voting live , Karnataka election 2024 live in Bengaluru , Election 2024 Date along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.