Vietnam president resigns amid anti-graft purge

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From Thai PBS World

Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned, state media said Tuesday, after days of rumours he was about to be sacked as part of a major anti-corruption drive that has seen several ministers fired.

Phuc has “submitted his resignation from his assigned positions, quit his job, and retired”, state news agency VNA said.

Phuc’s sudden departure is a highly unusual move in communist Vietnam, where political changes are normally carefully orchestrated, with an emphasis on cautious stability.

State media said the communist party had ruled he was responsible for wrongdoing by senior ministers under him during his 2016-2021 stint as prime minister, before he became president.

Two deputy prime ministers were sacked this month in an anti-corruption purge that has led to the arrest of dozens of officials, with many of the graft allegations relating to deals done as part of Vietnam’s Covid pandemic response.

Earlier this month, the country’s rubber stamp National Assembly removed Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam from their positions as deputy prime ministers.

Minh was a minister of foreign affairs while Dam was in charge of the country’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 100 officials and businesspeople, including Dam’s assistant, have been arrested in connection with a scandal involving the distribution of Covid-19 testing kits.

Thirty-seven people — many of them senior diplomats and police — have also been arrested in an investigation over the repatriation of Vietnamese during the pandemic.

Phuc, 68, was elevated to the largely ceremonial role of president in April 2021 after winning plaudits for the country’s broadly successful handling of the pandemic.

Authoritarian Vietnam is run by the Communist Party and officially led by the party general secretary, president, and prime minister, with key decisions made by the politburo, which now numbers 16.

Le Hong Hiep, a fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Phuc’s resignation may also be linked to political infighting.

“It’s mainly related to corruption investigations but we cannot rule out the possibility that his political rivals also wanted to remove him from his position for political reasons,” he told AFP.

 

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Vietnam names woman interim president

From VN Express

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan has been named the interim president of Vietnam Wednesday afternoon after the National Assembly dismissed President Nguyen Xuan Phuc from his position.

The Constitution of Vietnam rules that the president, voted by the National Assembly among the assembly's deputies, is the head of state and represents the country in internal and external affairs.

If the president fails to fulfill his jobs over a long time, the vice president will take over as interim president, until an official vote by the assembly.

 

[PeterRS]

I wonder if this might have any effect on the parliamentary attempts to legalise same sex marriage in Vietnam? Unlikely I expect, but we shall see. In 2014 parliament passed a law removing the ban on same sex marriage. SInce then, little progress has been made, although a group of citizens has set up a co-ordinating body to press for legality by winning hearts and minds. Polls held in 2012, 2013 and 2015/16 showed an increasing acceptance of the idea of gay marriage. Those voting 'for' in 2015/16 had risen to 45% and opposition dropped to 25%. During VietPride in 2020 it had this bus with "I Do" on the side touring the country.