10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam

Election of top leadership of Communist Party of Vietnam

The 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam was held in Ba Đình Hall, Hanoi from 18 to 25 April 2006. The congress occurs every five years. 1,176 delegates represented the party's 3 million members. At the 13th plenum of the Central Committee, held before the congress, it was decided that eight members of the Communist Party's 9th Politburo had to retire. While certain segments within and outside the Politburo were skeptical, the decision was implemented. Because of party rules, the congress was not empowered to elect the general secretary, and it held a survey on whom the delegates wanted to be appointed General Secretary. The first plenum of the Central Committee, held in the immediate aftermath of the congress, re elected Nông Đức Mạnh as general secretary. The congress is noteworthy because of the extent of democratization which took place within the party. The role of the Central Committee in decision making was strengthened, and the role of the Politburo as a supreme organ was weakened. Inner party accountability was strengthened. The Eighth Five Year Plan of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was approved at the congress, renewed its Marxist–Leninist credentials and emphasized the need to continue to improve the socialist oriented market economy.

1,176 delegates participated at the 10th Congress.

The elected 10th Central Committee comprised 81 (52.5 percent) members from the 9th Central Committee, and 79 (47.5 percent) new members were elected. The candidate with the highest vote received 97.88 percent, while the candidate with the lowest vote received 63.41 percent. All the provinces, with the exception of Đắk Nông Province, elected officials to the 10th Central Committee. A number of surprises occurred during the election process; six ministers were not re elected. Another surprise was that no officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were elected as full members. However, Phạm Bình Minh, the Director of the International Organizations Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was elected as an alternate member. None of the 34 self nominated candidates at the congress were elected to the 10th Central Committee. It is unknown whether any of the self nominees for alternate membership in the 10th Central Committee were elected. There was an increase in Central Committee officials working in the central government, the provinces, military and defence officials, public security officials and officials from mass organizations, but there was a decrease in officials from the sectors of information, social and cultural affairs, economics, business and financial affairs, and others. As the meeting progressed, some delegates publicly demanded that the congress should be given the authority to elect the general secretary and the head of the Central Commission for Inspection. This was approved and a survey form which listed four possible candidates; Mạnh, Nguyễn Minh Triết, Nguyễn Văn An and Nguyễn Phú Trọng was created. Nguyễn Văn An withdrew his candidacy, knowing he would not be elected to the 10th Politburo because he was not elected to the 10th Central Committee. However, because of party rules which stated that the Central Committee after the congress elected the general secretary, the vote at the congress was considered a survey. Another version of the proceedings, that given by Mạnh at the press conference after the congress, was that the 1,176 congress delegates were given a list of the elected members of the 10th Central Committee, and were given a free choice of electing any of them to the general secretaryship. After the congress, on 25 April, the 1st plenum of the Central Committee convened to elect the general secretary. The two leading candidates at the congress survey, Mạnh and Nguyễn Minh Triết, stood for election at the plenum. Mạnh was elected and Nguyễn Minh Triết was appointed state president. However, rumours that Mạnh won narrowly over his rival, and that Nguyễn Minh Triết withdrew his candidature following the party tradition of appointing the general secretary, circulated after the congress. The 10th Politburo comprised 14 members. As was decided at the first plenum, the ranking given to Politburo members was to be decided by the number of approval votes the official earned during the election. Lê Hồng Anh, the Minister of Public Security, was ranked second in the Politburo because he received the second most approval votes for his candidacy. Of the 14 members of the Politburo, five were concurrently members of the 10th Secretariat. The Secretariat comprised eight members, amongst whom the highest rank was general secretary.

The official Congress communique set 2020 as a date on which Vietnam would reach the status of a modern, industrial society. The Political Report, the Eighth Five Year Plan (2006–2010)officially titled the Five Year Socio economic Development Plan, the report on Party building and the amendment and revision to the Party's charter, were approved. The Eighth Five Year Plan is subordinate to the Ten Year Socio economic Development Strategy (2001–2010) which aims to continue comprehensive reform and achieve fast, sustainable growth rates. The delegates approved the general secretary's Political Report, Report on Orientations and Tasks for Socio Economic Development for the 2006–10 Period, and the Report on Party building and amendments made to the party statute. These reports' main objectives were to accelerate the reform process and strengthen the socialist oriented market economy. The congress allowed existing party members to engage in private ownership. This was a controversial amendment and was a break with the theory of exploitation of man by man. While the amendment was approved, the third plenum of the 10th Central Committee restricted the change to party members who had worked in state owned enterprises which have been privatized.

An important characteristic of the 10th Congress was the internal democratization of the party leadership, most notably seen in the Politburo's willingness to follow the "survey" voted by the 13th plenum of the Central Committee. The top five members of the "survey" were rewarded with the five highest government positions in Vietnam. While the leadership selection process was not dramatically altered, the Central Committee as a collective unit was strengthened, and the Central Committee acquired control over personnel appointments and policy making. In effect, these changes have reduced the roles of powerful individuals, who may be seen as taking too much control.

35 foreign parties congratulated the CPV on holding its 10th Congress. Not all the parties which congratulated the CPV were communists, for example the Cambodian People's Party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Uri Party and the Bulgarian Socialist Party. The French Communist Party congratulated the CPV on holding its 10th National Congress, and stated that it "was a milestone and an occasion for the Party to reiterate its orientations and its determination to implement objectives as well as open new visions for the 21st century."