Vietnam’s Communist Party leader To Lam is pursuing a dual role by merging his party position with the state presidency, officials said — a step that would bring the country’s political framework closer to China’s model, where President Xi Jinping holds both titles.
Next week some 1,600 delegates will gather in Hanoi to kick off a week-long Communist Party congress, held every five years to select new leaders and set policy goals for the single-party state.
Power-Sharing and Military Negotiations
Lam, 68, bid for both top positions at a party meeting in December, seeking initial party approval ahead of the congress, three people briefed by the delegates and another three officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Sources confirmed Lam was backed to stay as party chief, but accounts differed on his bid for the presidency — with some saying he gained support and others calling the outcome unclear. The final decision will rest with delegates at the upcoming congress.
The combination of the two top jobs for the next five years would mark a significant departure from Vietnam’s traditional power-sharing model. Only in exceptional periods after the death of incumbents have the positions been merged, including in 2024 when Lam held both positions for about three months.
Power-Sharing Talks
Should Lam succeed, the military, a powerful faction within the party, would give up the presidency in exchange for maintaining a broad autonomy over the promotion of its senior officers, two sources said.
One official said military leaders are negotiating “safeguards” to limit Lam’s authority. The defence ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Supporters of combining the two roles argue all other communist countries – China, North Korea, Cuba and Laos – vest both positions in a single leader, and note the move would bolster Lam’s economic reform agenda and strengthen his standing in meetings with foreign leaders.
Sceptics see the change as emboldening a leader seen as a risk-taker who has already vastly expanded the powers of the security apparatus.
(With inputs from Reuters)
