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An indirect presidential election was held in Vietnam on 22 May 2024. The election took place just one year after the 2023 election of President Võ Văn Thưởng, who resigned on 20 March 2024 as part of a broad anti-corruption purge led by the Communist Party's General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.
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| Turnout | 97.13% | ||||||||||||||||
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On 18 May 2024, General Tô Lâm was nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party to become Vietnam's next president.[1] The National Assembly of Vietnam formally convened on 22 May 2024 to elect Tô Lâm as Vietnam's 13th president, with 472 of 473 delegates attending voted for him and 1 voting blank.[2]
Background
editAnti-corruption campaign and resignation of Võ Văn Thưởng
editOn 20 March 2024, Vietnamese state media reported that the Central Committee of the Communist Party had approved the resignation of then-President Võ Văn Thưởng due to having to "bear the responsibility of the leader" and "violating regulations on what party members are not allowed to do" and other unspecified reasons.[3]
Nomination of Tô Lâm
editAt the 9th Conference of the Central Committee on 18 May 2024, several high-profile leadership reshuffles were announced. Tô Lâm and Trần Thanh Mẫn were nominated by the Politburo to serve as Vietnam's next president and parliament speaker, respectively, replacing Võ Văn Thưởng and Vương Đình Huệ who resigned in the past two months. According to state media, their nominations received "broad support" from the Central Committee membership.
Initially, it was announced by the National Assembly on 19 May that General Tô Lâm would retain his current post of Minister of Public Security alongside the presidency. This is an unprecedented move as there has not been a minister who concurrently serves as president since the country's reunification in 1976.[4]
However, on 21 May, the National Assembly announced it would relieve Tô Lâm of his ministerial post following his election as president.[5]
Election
editOn 22 May 2024, the National Assembly formally convened to vote for Vietnam's next president. Tô Lâm, as the only candidate in Vietnam's one-party system, won all but one vote from the 473 delegates attending.[6]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tô Lâm | Communist Party of Vietnam | 472 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 472 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 472 | 99.79 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1 | 0.21 | ||
| Total votes | 473 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 487 | 97.13 | ||
| Source: DW,VP | ||||
Reaction
editDomestic
editAccording to the Communist Party newspaper, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng is said to have congratulated the Party Central Committee on the unanimous decision to introduce General Tô Lâm as President and Trần Thanh Mẫn as Chairman of the National Assembly.[7]
International
editImmediately after Lâm's election and inauguration, Lao's President Thongloun Sisoulith expressed his "excitement" and appreciated the trust of the "Party, State and People of Vietnam" in General Lâm.
According to Xinhua News Agency, President Xi Jinping also sent a letter of congratulation, in which he was said to be "happy" that Mr. Lam held the position of President.
On the same day, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni also sent a congratulatory message to Vietnam and hoped that under Lâm's leadership, Vietnam and Cambodia would "be even closer."
President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel also sent a letter of congratulations to Tô Lâm on his appointment as President.[8]
References
edit- ^ Vu, Khanh (2024-05-21). "Vietnam lawmakers clear way for top policeman to take presidency". Reuters.
- ^ Son, Ha (2024-05-22). "Vietnam's new president to be sworn in today". VnExpress. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ Vu, Khanh; Nguyen, Phuong; Guarascio, Francesco (2024-03-20). "Vietnam's president resigns, raising questions over stability". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Đại tướng Tô Lâm làm chủ tịch nước kiêm bộ trưởng Công an?". BBC News Tiếng Việt (in Vietnamese). 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Parliament to relieve Tô Lâm from public security minister position, paves way for Presidency". vietnamnews.vn. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Vietnam elects To Lam as new president – DW – 05/22/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Party Central Committee nominates General To Lam as President, Vice National Assembly Chairman as top legislator". Communist Party of Vietnam. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ Vietnam (VietnamPlus) (2024-05-21). "Lãnh đạo các nước chúc mừng Chủ tịch Quốc hội Trần Thanh Mẫn". Vietnam (VietnamPlus) (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-05-22.