The Party Committee of the Government has been tasked with finalizing the plan for merging several provincial-level administrative units in March to submit to the Central Committee before April 7, 2025.
On February 28, the Politburo and the Secretariat issued a conclusion, assigning the Party Committee of the Government to coordinate with the Central Organization Committee, the Party Committee of the National Assembly, the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, central mass organizations and relevant agencies to direct the research and development of a proposal and submission to the Politburo on the merger of some provincial-level administrative units, eliminating district-level organizations; and continuing the merger of commune-level administrative units.
In addition to considering population size and area, the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee require that the merger of provinces be based on thorough research into the national master plan, regional plans, local plans, socio-economic development strategies, sectoral development, expansion of development space, leveraging comparative advantages, meeting the development requirements of each locality, and the requirements and orientations of the new development phase.
Regarding the commune level, the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee noted the need to clearly define the models of local government at the commune level for urban, rural, mountainous, plain, and island areas, taking into account population size, area, history, culture, socio-economic issues, national defense, security, ethnicity, and religion. Based on the above, relevant agencies will develop the functions, tasks, powers, organizational structure, and staffing levels of the local government at the commune level.
At the same time, the agencies clarified the working relationships between different levels of local government (between the provincial and commune levels); the working relationships along the vertical axis from the central government to the commune level, ensuring smooth, synchronized, interconnected, effective, and efficient operation; and clearly identified the conditions to ensure the effective operation of commune governments before, during, and after the restructuring.
The center of Ninh Binh city. Ninh Binh is one of 10 provinces that failed to meet all three criteria simultaneously: population, area, and number of district-level administrative units. Photo: Le Hoang
The Politburo and the Secretariat instructed the Party Committee of the Government to promptly report to the Politburo and the Secretariat for approval before seeking opinions from Party committees and organizations, no later than March 9th.
Subsequently, the Party Committee of the Government incorporated the opinions of the Politburo and the Secretariat to finalize the plan and send it for comments to provincial and city Party committees, Party committees directly under the Central Committee, agencies, organizations, and central Party committees, no later than March 12th.
After considering feedback from various units, the Party Committee of the Government finalized the plan for merging provinces and submitted it to the Politburo and the Secretariat before March 27th.
Based on feedback from the Politburo, the Secretariat, and relevant agencies, the Party Committee of the Government will finalize the proposal and submission; and present it to the Central Committee (through the Central Organization Department) before April 7th.
According to current regulations, local government consists of three levels: Province (province, centrally-administered city); District (county, town, city within a province, city within a centrally-administered city); and Commune (commune, ward, township). Vietnam currently has 63 administrative units at the provincial level, including 57 provinces and 6 centrally-administered cities; 705 districts; and 10,595 communes and wards.
According to regulations of the National Assembly Standing Committee, provinces and cities must meet three criteria: population size, area, and number of district-level administrative units. Mountainous and highland provinces must have a population of at least 900,000 and an area of 8,000 km2; provinces in other areas must have a population of 1.4 million and an area of 5,000 km2. Furthermore, provinces and cities must have 9 district-level administrative units, including at least one city or town. District and commune-level administrative units also have standards regarding population and area.
In comparison with the regulations mentioned above, there are currently 10 provinces and cities nationwide that do not meet all three criteria; and dozens of provinces and cities that do not meet one or two criteria regarding area, population, and the number of district-level administrative units.
Streamline mass organizations assigned tasks by the Party and the State.
The Politburo and the Secretariat also requested the development of a plan to reorganize and streamline the Fatherland Front agencies, political and social organizations, and mass associations assigned tasks by the Party and the State (at the central, provincial, and commune levels) after the merger.
The Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and central mass organizations, together with the Central Organization Committee, the Party Committee of the Government, and the Party Committee of the National Assembly, will research and develop a plan and submit it to the Politburo on a comprehensive review of the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of subordinate agencies and organizations, especially press agencies, in order to manage them uniformly and effectively, with a focus on maximizing streamlining and maintaining only truly necessary units.
The Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee have requested the reorganization of political and social organizations and mass associations assigned tasks by the Party and the State to be directly under the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, in order to align with the current Party organizational structure.
The Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and central mass organizations should promptly report to the Politburo for guidance on the aforementioned issues no later than March 9th. Following this, they will incorporate the Politburo and Secretariat's opinions to finalize the proposal and submit it for comments to provincial and city Party committees, Party committees directly under the Central Committee, agencies, organizations, and Party committees no later than March 12th; report to the Politburo and Secretariat before March 27th; and present it to the Central Committee before April 7th.
The Central Organizing Committee has been tasked with developing a plan for the local Party organization system, which emphasizes upgrading and empowering grassroots Party organizations. This plan will be submitted for comments from provincial and city Party committees and relevant agencies before March 12th.
The Central Organizing Committee was also tasked with compiling proposals and reports on the restructuring and streamlining of the organizational apparatus at all levels of local government; preparing a comprehensive report to be submitted to the Politburo before April 7th; and submitting it to the Central Committee before April 9th.
Reorganizing district-level military agencies
The Central Military Commission is tasked with, based on Conclusion 126, coordinating with relevant agencies to research and develop a plan for further reorganizing the military (including the organization of district-level military agencies); and proactively proposing a timeframe for reporting to the Politburo in accordance with the progress of this Conclusion.
The Politburo and the Secretariat also requested a temporary suspension of party congresses at the commune and district levels. After the 11th Central Committee meeting, the Politburo will issue specific guidelines on this matter.
Vu Tuan
