A draft resolution to amend several provisions of the 2013 Constitution proposes that the Prime Minister be given the authority to appoint chairpersons and vice chairpersons of People’s Committees in provinces and centrally governed cities formed after the upcoming administrative restructuring.

The Drafting Committee for the constitutional amendment has submitted this proposal for public consultation. It outlines mechanisms to reorganize government structures in response to the administrative mergers scheduled for 2025, including the elimination of district-level administrative units.

Under the proposal, local elections for key leadership positions - including chairpersons, vice chairpersons of People’s Councils (HDND), heads of council committees, and members of People’s Committees (UBND) - will not be held in newly formed administrative units at the provincial and city levels.

Similarly, the positions of heads and deputy heads of provincial National Assembly delegations will be appointed, not elected.

Instead, based on personnel recommendations by competent party bodies, the National Assembly Standing Committee will appoint chairpersons, vice chairpersons of provincial People’s Councils, heads of HDND committees, and National Assembly delegation leaders.

The Prime Minister will appoint chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the People’s Committees for newly established provincial and city units.

At the local level, provincial HDND Standing Committees will appoint UBND members and leaders of communal People’s Councils and Committees in newly formed communes. Likewise, communal-level HDND Standing Committees will appoint members to communal UBNDs.

In special cases, the draft resolution allows for the appointment of non-elected individuals to leadership roles in HDNDs at both the provincial and commune levels after mergers.

According to the Drafting Committee, these provisions are designed to institutionalize the Politburo’s Conclusion No. 150, which guides personnel restructuring for merged or newly formed provinces and communes.

The committee recommends including a transitional clause (Article 2, Clause 3) to legally authorize the appointment of HDND, UBND, and National Assembly delegation leaders during the 2025 restructuring. This clause also supports the reorganization of leadership for the 2021–2026 term in the absence of district-level governments.

The 2025 restructuring is considered exceptionally complex due to its large scale and the simultaneous dissolution of district-level administrative units. Local government bodies at the district level will be discontinued alongside the merging of provincial and commune units.

Given the sweeping structural changes and the limited remaining term of the current People’s Councils, many council members in the newly merged administrative units may lack the familiarity and time required to properly evaluate candidates for leadership roles.

To facilitate staff allocation - particularly transitioning district-level officials to roles at the provincial and commune levels - and to make optimal use of existing human resources, the committee proposes a temporary appointment mechanism for HDND and UBND leaders in the new units.

This mechanism will only be implemented in 2025 to support the administrative reorganization and will align with the proposed constitutional amendments.

After the 2026–2031 People’s Council elections and beyond, all appointments to HDND and UBND positions will return to the standard election process in accordance with current regulations.

Tran Thuong