After the 14th Party Congress: How the National Assembly Legalizes Việt Nam’s Leadership

With the conclusion of the 14th Party Congress, party personnel matters are effectively settled. The “internal” arrangements are finalized: the new Central Committee has been unveiled, the Politburo and Secretariat have taken shape, and the top leadership is known.

General Secretary Tô Lâm retains his position, while Trần Cẩm Tú has been assigned the role of Standing Member of the 14th Secretariat.

Now, the question becomes: when will state personnel be unveiled? Specifically, how and when will the “remaining three pillars”—the president, the National Assembly chair, and the prime minister—be selected?

The answer lies with the legislative branch. Attention now shifts to two upcoming events: the election of the 16th National Assembly and its subsequent first session.

The National Assembly Elections

The election for the 16th National Assembly has been scheduled for March 15, 2026.

While the word “election” often implies choosing the nation’s rulers, the reality in Việt Nam is different. Voters do not directly cast ballots for the president or the prime minister. Instead, they vote for a slate of approximately 500 National Assembly deputies.

This distinction is often misunderstood. On election day, voters may see names of high-profile candidates on their ballots, but they are technically electing them as local representatives, not as national leaders. The actual selection of top state leadership happens later, carried out by these deputies on behalf of the people.

This scenario raises a follow-up question: if the public is strictly electing “deputies,” who determines which names appear on the candidate list in the first place?

Who Has the Right to Run

Việt Nam’s election system utilizes a mechanism known as “consultation,” or hiệp thương, to ensure that National Assembly deputies align with the Party’s predetermined structure.

On paper, the right to run for office is a legal right. But in practice, for a name to appear on the ballot, an individual must pass through this consultation mechanism. In this case, consultation is fundamentally different from an election; it is a process of compiling a list of candidates according to a pre-set framework.

In other words, before any discussion of who to vote for takes place, the system has already carefully determined who the National Assembly should consist of. To become one of the roughly 500 National Assembly deputies, a candidate must go through the consultation process, which consists of three rounds.

Round 1: Structuring

First, the system determines the composition of the Assembly—allocating specific quotas for localities, central agencies, women, non-Party members, and full-time deputies. Once this “framework” is established, the candidate list becomes a matter of filling in names, not debating who is better suited.

Round 2: Screening 

Candidates, whether self-nominated or organizationally backed, undergo opinion-gathering sessions at their workplace and residence. This step assesses ethics, political attitudes, social standing, and collective acceptance rather than legislative competence.

Round 3: Finalization 

Once the list is finalized, anyone who fails to pass this stage effectively disappears from the election, regardless of their qualifications.

The result is that by the time voters receive their ballots, the real decisions have already been made, and all they can do is choose from a predetermined list. Throughout the three crucial consultation rounds, the public is entirely absent.

How People Vote and Choose

Physically, voting is straightforward: voters receive a ballot, cross out the names of candidates they reject, and cast their vote.

Politically, however, the result is more nuanced. Voters are essentially forming a new National Assembly and not merely selecting a prime minister or a president.

This distinction matters because the National Assembly is more than just a listening chamber. On paper, it possesses the highest state powers: legislation, oversight, and—crucially—the authority to elect senior officials.

This specific authority legitimizes the Party’s personnel decisions. The National Assembly functions as the bridge that converts an “internal party assignment” into a constitutional “state office.”

This transformation takes place during the Assembly’s first session.

The First Session

The election forms the National Assembly, but its first session establishes executive power.

According to electoral regulations, the 16th National Assembly must convene its first session no later than 60 days after the election. [1] This meeting serves an important function: to elect or approve the nation’s top leadership—the president, the National Assembly chair, and the prime minister.

This raises an obvious point about political reality versus legal procedure. While core personnel are typically selected internally by the party immediately following the Congress, these assignments lack constitutional authority on their own.

A party assignment alone is insufficient to make someone a president or prime minister. Only the vote of the National Assembly can confer that title.

Hence, the first session is not just a ceremonial debut of the “three pillars.” It is a necessary act of legalization that transforms internal political decisions into binding state power.

The Necessity of Elections and a First Session

If the party has already selected the leadership, why are elections and a National Assembly session necessary?

The answer lies in the distinction between political power and legal authority. While the party determines personnel directions, the Constitution mandates that only the National Assembly has the power to elect the president, the prime minister, and the chair of the National Assembly.

Thus, a party decision alone cannot create a government. The state apparatus can only be formed after the National Assembly—the sole body with the constitutional mandate to do so—casts its votes.

Without the general election, there is no National Assembly. Without the first session, party assignments remain internal matters with no legal force or validity.

This process illustrates the defining characteristic of the Vietnamese political model: the Party decides, but the National Assembly legalizes. Both steps are essential to the transition of power following a Party Congress.

***

The conclusion of the 14th Party Congress is only the beginning. To transform internal party decisions into a functioning government, the process must navigate three stages:

• Consultation: Creating the approved candidate list.
• Election: Forming the National Assembly, the body with constitutional power.
• First Session: Establishing the state apparatus and government leadership.

The election serves as the preparatory phase, creating the deputies. The first session is the decisive phase, installing the state leaders.

Only after these steps are complete can the state apparatus for the 2026–2031 term officially—and legally—begin its work.

---

Thúc Kháng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Feb. 05, 2026. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.