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All 500 seats in the National Assembly 251 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 99.51% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Politicsportal |
Parliamentary elections were held in Vietnam on 22 May 2011. [1] Since Vietnam is a single-party state, the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam was guaranteed to win a majority. [2]
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, there were 827 candidates. 31.4% were women, 14.3% were not members of the Communist Party, 16.1% were members of ethnic minorities and 22.1% were candidates running for reelection. [3] Regardless of party standing, all candidates are evaluated by the Fatherland Front. [4]
Originally, 82 people were self-nominated, but of those only 15 were approved by party officials in order to run in the election. [5] However, Vietnam saw an increase of self-nominated candidates (82) in 2011 compared to 30 in 2007. [6] Some pro-democracy and human rights activists were a part of the self-nominated group, who did not receive the required approval. These included lawyers Le Quoc Quan, a former fellow for the National Endowment for Democracy and Cu Huy Ha Vu and Le Cong Dinh, both sentenced to jail for security and propaganda risks against the state. [7]
The 14 politburo seats were also up for election, though these elections were held in small electoral districts chosen by the party leaders. Thus, not all Vietnamese voters had a say in the politburo election decision. [8]
During the 2011 election, Vietnam had an estimated 62,200,000 registered voters and of those registered 61,900,000 ballots were reportedly cast. [9] Of the 500 members elected, 333 were first-time members and four were self-nominated. Almost all of them had at least a bachelor's degree; 15.6% were from ethnic minorities, 24.4% were women, and 8.4% were not members of the Communist Party. [10] Non-party members, who managed to gain a seat in the National Assembly, include brother and sister duo Dang Thanh Tam and Dang Thi Hoang Yen from Saigon Investment Group. [11]
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Communist Party of Vietnam | 454 | +4 | |||
| Non-party members | 42 | 0 | |||
| Independents | 4 | +3 | |||
| Total | 500 | +7 | |||
| Total votes | 61,965,651 | – | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 63,000,000 | 98.36 | |||
| Source: IPU | |||||
Following the elections, on 25 July the new National Assembly elected Trương Tấn Sang as the new president, with 483 of the 496 National Assembly members voting for him. [12]
The politics of Vietnam is dominated by a single party under an authoritarian system, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The President of Vietnam is the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government. Both of these offices are separate from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who leads the CPV and is head of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission. The General Secretary is thus the de facto highest position in the Vietnamese politics.
The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The officeholder is generally considered to hold the second-highest position in the political system, practically after the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of government in Vietnam and, in accordance with the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it.
The Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam ,[note_5] formerly designated as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 1946 to 1981, is the legislative speaker of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, presiding over the National Assembly. The National Assembly is, in the words of the constitution, "the highest representative organ of the people; the highest organ of state power".
The Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam is the highest body of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in between gatherings of the National Congress and of the plenary sessions Central Committee. According to Party rules, the Politburo directs the general orientation of the government, and by that, it has dominant power in the politics of Vietnam.
Trương Tấn Sang is a Vietnamese politician, who served as the eighth President of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016. He was one of Vietnam's top leaders, alongside prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and Party general secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. In July 2011, Trương Tấn Sang was elected state president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam by the National Assembly of Vietnam and nominated by his predecessor Nguyễn Minh Triết who retired from office.
The 11th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), formally the 11th Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Bộ Chính trị Ban Chấp hành trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam Khoá XI), was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in the immediate aftermath of the 11th National Congress. Of the 14 members of the 11th Politubro, five of them were new to the Politburo (Trần Đại Quang, Tòng Thị Phóng, Ngô Văn Dụ, Đinh Thế Huynh and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc). Nguyễn Phú Trọng was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee – as General Secretary he presides over the work of the Central Committee, the Secretariat and the Politburo.
The 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam was elected at the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 11th Central Committee elected the 11th Politburo and the 11th Secretariat.
On 27 January 2016, the 12th National Congress elected 180 individuals to serve as members of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) for the electoral term 2016–2021. The Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the CPV and Vietnam when the Party's National Congress and the Politburo are adjourned. In between congresses, the Central Committee is responsible for organising and directing the implementation of the Party's Political Platform, Charter, and resolutions adopted at the National Congress. Furthermore, it adopts guidelines and policies in all relevant fields, domestic or foreign. In addition, the sitting Central Committee is responsible for convening the next National Congress. Members of the Central Committee have the right to elect and remove the General Secretary of the Central Committee as well as members of the Politburo, the Secretariat and the Central Inspection Commission (CIC). When the Central Committee is not in session, it delegates its powers to these three elected organs which then report on their activities the next time the Central Committee convenes for a meeting. Central Committee members are responsible to and report on their work to the Central Committee.
The 12th Politburo, formally the Political Bureau of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee (CC) on 27 January 2016 during the 12th National Congress to serve for a five-year electoral term. Based on the principle that "the Party leads and the State manages", the Politburo is the highest decision-making institution in the CPV and Vietnam when the Party's National Congress and the Central Committee are adjourned. According to Party rules, the Politburo directs the general orientation of the government; it convenes meetings several times a month to discuss and decide policy, which is then implemented by the relevant state or party bodies, such as the National Assembly of Vietnam if the policy concerns law-making, or the Party's Central Organisation Commission if it concerns cadre policy. The total number of meetings the 12th Politburo convened has not been publicly disclosed to the media. Some have been publicly reported, however, and are listed below.
Tô Lâm is a Vietnamese politician and police officer who has been serving as the 13th President of Vietnam since May 2024. He served as Minister of Public Security from April 2016 until his election to the presidency in May 2024. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, he is also one of the deputy heads of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption. He is widely considered to be a powerful figure in the General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng's anti-corruption campaign.
The 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam was elected at the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 10th Central Committee elected the 10th Politburo and the 10th Secretariat.
The 13th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), formally the 13th Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Bộ Chính trị Ban Chấp hành trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam Khoá XIII), was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee (CC) in the immediate aftermath of the 13th National Congress. Nguyễn Phú Trọng was re-elected for his third term as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a position he has held since 2011.
Trần Quốc Vượng is a Vietnamese politician. He was a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat, Former Deputy Head of Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption, Member of the National Assembly of Vietnam. He has worked in many units and agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Socialist Republic of Vietnam, serving as Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam; Head of Central Office of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the Party Personnel Committee, Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam.
Trương Thị Mai is a Vietnamese politician. She was the Permanent Member of the Secretariat and Head of the Central Organization Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, being the first woman to hold these positions.
The 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has been in session since the conclusion of the 13th National Congress in 2021. It elected, at its 1st Plenary Session, the Politburo, about half of the membership of the Secretariat and the Central Inspection Commission of the 13th term.
The 12th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), formally the 12th Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Ban Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam Khoá XII), was partly elected by a decision of the 12th Politburo and partly elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee (CC) in the immediate aftermath of the 12th National Congress.
The 11th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), formally the 11th Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Ban Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam Khoá XI), was partly elected by a decision of the 11th Politburo and partly elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee (CC) in the immediate aftermath of the 11th National Congress.
The Permanent Memberof the Secretariat, officially the Permanent Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's Secretariat, is a senior position within the Communist Party of Vietnam.
On 27 January 2016, the 12th National Congress elected 20 people to serve as alternates of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) for the electoral term 2016–2021. The Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the CPV and Vietnam when the Party's National Congress and the Politburo are adjourned. In between two congresses, the Central Committee is responsible for organising and directing the implementation of the Party's Political Platform, Charter and resolutions adopted at the National Congress. It decides on guidelines and policies in all relevant fields, domestic or foreign. The sitting Central Committee is responsible for convening the next National Congress. Alternates are party cadres who have the right to speak and attend meetings of the Central Committee but do not have the right to vote. They are 45 years of age or younger and undergo long-term political education to prepare them for future assignments and election as a member of the Central Committee. Candidates for alternates need to meet the same standards as Central Committee members. Work assignments of alternates are decided upon by the Politburo. Lastly, alternates are responsible to and report on their work to the Central Committee.
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| Local elections | |||||||||
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