The National Assembly (NA) has agreed to let Nguyen Sinh Hung step down from both positions as Chairman of the NA and the National Election Council (NEC) during a plenary session in Hanoi on March 30.

Among 473 valid votes, 431 agreed to relieve him from duty as NA Chairman, while 430 approved of his stepping down from the post of NEC leader.

The legislature then adopted a resolution dismissing him from the posts with 454 approval votes (92.11 percent of the NA deputies).

Later, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong delivered a proposal on the nomination of candidates for the position of NA head.

The Politburo and Party Central Committee have nominated NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan to the post.

The voting will be held on March 31 morning. If elected, Ngan will become the first female leader in the history of the Vietnamese legislature.

Also on March 31, the legislative body is scheduled to take procedures to relieve the President of his post.

On April 2 morning, the NA will elect a new President, who will be sworn in the same day.

The newly-elected President is due to submit a proposal to the NA to relieve the Prime Minister of his duty on April 6 morning, and procedures for the dismissal will take place on the afternoon the same day.

The NA will elect a new PM on the morning of April 7.

All the dismissal and election of these key leading positions are conducted in the form of secret ballot.

Lawmakers canvass retirement of National Assembly Chairman

Legislators held group discussions in the morning of March 30 about the retirement of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, who also chairs the National Election Council.

The discussions were held after the NA Standing Committee submitted the retirement proposal to the parliament at its 11th meeting, which is also the last of the 13th NA.

Talking to the press on the sidelines of the event, deputy Duong Trung Quoc from Dong Nai province said new top leaders are usually elected by the parliament of a new tenure. However, the persons who currently serve as the NA Chairman, the President and the Prime Minister are not present in the new Party Central Committee and Politburo, which were elected during the recent 12th National Party Congress.

Therefore, the concurrent election of the three leading positions right at the NA’s 11th meeting is necessary to consolidate the State apparatus, he added, noting that the sooner the new apparatus becomes operational, the more effective its internal and external activities are.

The election of the top positions is comparable to a vote of confidence. Notably, the elected persons will, for the first time, take an oath in front of the parliament. This will help the new leaders be fully aware of their honour as well as responsibility, Quoc said.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Thi Kha – a deputy from Tra Vinh province said the election of the top State positions at the 13th NA’s last meeting is a well-timed activity since the Party already finished its personnel appointments for the new tenure.

Deputy Bui Thi An of Hanoi said the State, NA, and Government agencies promoted their performance over the last five years, contributing to the country’s prominent accomplishments.

She noted that voters nationwide expect more drastic actions and stronger reforms conducted by the new leaders.

VNA