Speech by General Secretary To Lam at the National Conference on implementing the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term

On the morning of November 15, at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House, the National Election Council held a national conference to deploy the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term. Nhan Dan Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of General Secretary To Lam's speech at the conference.

Dear leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front , National Election Council,

Dear delegates, dear comrades,

Today, in the exciting atmosphere of the entire Party, people and army actively competing to successfully complete the goals of the 13th National Congress term and carefully prepare in all aspects for the 14th National Congress of the Party, I am very pleased to attend the National Conference on the implementation of the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term, organized by the National Election Council.

On behalf of the Politburo , I would like to send to the leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam Fatherland Front; comrades in the National Election Council; leaders of central and local departments, ministries, branches, and organizations; and all comrades attending at the connecting points across the country my warm greetings, cordial greetings, and best wishes.

General Secretary To Lam delivered a speech at the conference. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Dear comrades,

Today's conference is of great significance, a concrete step in implementing the Politburo's direction on leading the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term - a major political event of the country, taking place right after the 14th National Party Congress . Since the first General Election in 1946, our country has successfully organized 15 National Assembly elections. Each election is an important milestone, associated with a different historical period and revolutionary mission of the nation - from the resistance war to build the nation, the struggle for independence and national unification to the current cause of innovation, construction and protection of the Fatherland. Each vote of voters over the past 8 decades is a vivid symbol of trust, of the strength of great national unity, of the sense of responsibility, and the will to master the country of our people; affirming the democratic, progressive and humane nature of our State: " All power belongs to the people; Our State is of the people, by the people and for the people ". The 16th election - taking place on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the first General Election - will continue the country's democratic source, affirming the strength of national unity to bring the country to steady development in the new era. The success of the election will create an important initial step for building and perfecting the State apparatus for the new term, creating a solid political and social foundation to successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress. This is also an opportunity for us to affirm the leadership capacity of the Party, the management effectiveness of the State and the operational efficiency of the political system in the context of having just completed the streamlining of the organizational apparatus, merging administrative units, and reorganizing local governments according to the two-level model. Therefore, this election is identified as the key political task of 2026. The task for the entire Party, people and army at this time is to organize the preparation work well, ensuring the election is successful, takes place democratically, in accordance with the law, safely, economically and is truly a great festival for the people of the whole country.

I appreciate the activeness and proactiveness of the National Election Council and the agencies that have carefully prepared the content of the Conference. With the detailed guidance documents that have been issued, I believe that all levels and sectors have mastered the requirements and procedures for organizing the election. This will be a " handbook " for all levels and sectors from the Central to the grassroots to immediately take action, prepare early and thoroughly for the work, contributing to the successful organization of this important election. For the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term to be a great success, I would like to emphasize 5 key issues that need to be thoroughly understood.

First, focus on good leadership of personnel work - the most crucial stage of the election. The introduction of candidates must be carried out publicly and transparently, listening to widespread opinions from the grassroots, but must be closely linked to the planning of cadres, the results of party congresses at all levels and closely following the requirements of streamlining the political system apparatus, implementing the 2-level local government model; ensuring inheritance, connectivity and innovation. The structure of delegates must ensure harmonious representation between sectors, classes, genders, ages, regions; with appropriate proportions of full-time delegates, female delegates, young delegates, delegates from ethnic minorities, intellectuals, workers, farmers, businessmen, artists, religious dignitaries... so that the National Assembly and the People's Councils are truly a vivid face of the great national unity bloc. We strive to elect enough number and structure of delegates, but the quality of delegates must be put first. National Assembly and People's Council deputies must truly be loyal representatives of the people, speak for the people, take care of the people's affairs, and protect the legitimate interests of the people - directly the people in their voting areas . We must select and introduce people who are truly exemplary in terms of qualities and abilities. They must be comrades with strong political will, loyal to the Fatherland and the people, virtuous and talented, meeting all legal standards and qualified to perform well the duties of people's representatives. At the same time, those introduced must have sufficient health and time conditions to participate and fulfill their responsibilities well when elected. The 2026-2031 term is a key period to realize the country's two 100-year strategic goals with very high requirements. Therefore, we need to prioritize introducing people with innovative thinking, who dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, and dare to take responsibility; have vision and capacity to participate in policy making for local and national development in the new period.

On the contrary, it is necessary to carefully screen and resolutely eliminate from the beginning those who show signs of political opportunism, ambition for power, conservatism, factionalism, localism; individuals with low prestige, poor ethics, dishonesty or signs of violations being inspected and examined by competent authorities... At the same time, it is also necessary to evaluate the fact that in the past, a number of National Assembly and People's Council deputies were disciplined; some abused their positions and powers, violated the law ..., from which to draw experience to select and recommend personnel for the next term . This is an important requirement to strictly maintain discipline and integrity of the staff, ensuring that the elected bodies for the next term truly consist of excellent and honest representatives who put the interests of the nation, people and people first and foremost. As President Ho Chi Minh once advised, those who are elected by the people as representatives must “ strive to maintain the independence of the Fatherland, strive to seek happiness for the people, and always remember and practice the saying: for the benefit of the country, forget the benefit of the family, for the benefit of the common good, forget the benefit of the individual ”. I believe that with careful and thorough personnel preparation, we will introduce the most worthy candidates for the people to choose in the upcoming election.

Second, well organize the consultation, selection and introduction of candidates, promote the people's mastery throughout the election process. Party committees at all levels need to focus on leading and closely directing the organization of consultation conferences at all levels to establish lists of candidates for the National Assembly and People's Councils in accordance with legal procedures. Promote the important role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations in the process of consultation, introduction of candidates as well as supervision of the election process. The entire consultation process must be conducted democratically, objectively, publicly and transparently in accordance with legal regulations; strengthen inspection and supervision of implementation, resolutely not allowing negative phenomena such as unhealthy campaigning, " running " for candidacy, " running " for votes or group interests to distort the meaning of the election. It is necessary to create the most favorable conditions for all citizens to fully exercise their right to run for election and their right to vote in accordance with the law, and absolutely not allow any illegal obstruction to infringe upon the people's right to mastery.

Third, promote propaganda and mobilization work, create an exciting and consensus atmosphere in society and raise voters' awareness and responsibility. Propaganda widely so that all cadres, party members and people clearly understand the meaning and importance of the election, see the honor and responsibility of each voter's vote for the future of the country. Each locality, each agency and organization should launch exciting emulation movements to welcome the election; organize forums, conferences to meet voters, contests to learn about election laws... suitable to specific conditions, creating a vibrant political atmosphere, truly a festival for all people. Encourage and motivate all voters to voluntarily and actively participate in the election, strive to achieve the highest voter turnout rate, demonstrate a sense of responsibility towards the country, not " vote for the sake of it ". Each cadre and party member must uphold their pioneering and exemplary role, not only voting fully and legally themselves, but also mobilizing their families, relatives and surrounding people to enthusiastically participate in the election. This is an opportunity for cadres and party members to be close to the people, listen to their thoughts and aspirations, participate in propaganda, mobilization, and orientation of public opinion, creating a high consensus in society to ensure the election is successful.

Fourth, ensure political security, social order and safety and promptly handle election issues. Election security and safety must be prepared proactively, comprehensively and closely. The functional forces must strengthen their grasp of the situation, promptly detect and thoroughly handle arising issues, and avoid being passive or surprised in any situation. Proactively have effective response plans to unusual situations of natural disasters, storms, floods, epidemics, and extreme weather, especially in remote areas, border areas, and islands, ensuring absolute safety for people, facilities and the entire election process. All complaints and denunciations related to the election must be resolved promptly and in accordance with the law. Resolutely fight against all false, distorted, inciting arguments, and abuse of the election to sabotage the Party and the State, and sabotage the great national unity bloc; Do not let bad forces take advantage of democracy and the election process to cause trouble and violate the law.

Fifth, strengthen the application of information technology and coordinate smoothly between agencies and organizations in the entire political system to successfully organize the election. Promote the application of information technology in the management and operation of the election, from the stage of creating and updating the voter list, supporting consultation to reporting election results...; but special attention must be paid to ensuring safety, network security and information confidentiality, avoiding errors and data leaks. The stages in the organization process need to have smooth coordination between agencies and units from the central to local levels; avoid overlapping or missing tasks, all for the common goal of successfully organizing the election. National Election Council; National Assembly Party Committee; Government Party Committee; Vietnam Fatherland Front Party Committee, Central organizations; and the central ministries and branches need to coordinate closely, unify actions, strengthen guidance, inspection, supervision, and support for localities, ensuring synchronization and unity nationwide. Provincial and municipal Party Committees urgently establish local Steering Committees to comprehensively lead the election work in the area, not to be passive or confused at any stage.

Dear comrades,

There is not much time left until the election day (March 15, 2026), only 4 months, the workload is huge, the requirements are very high. I request all levels and sectors to immediately take action, work specifically, practically, effectively, without formality; clearly assign people, tasks, responsibilities, and completion time; regularly check, urge, remove difficulties and obstacles, ensure progress and quality of work, and best prepare conditions for a successful election.

I firmly believe that with the determination and drastic leadership and direction of Party committees at all levels; the close coordination of agencies and organizations in the political system; and the consensus and active response of nearly 100 million voters and people nationwide, the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term will be a great success, truly becoming a festival of the entire nation - where the Party's will blends with the people's hearts, continuing to arouse the aspiration to rise up and build a strong, prosperous Vietnam, with free, warm and happy people.

I wish you all good health and success in your assigned tasks. I wish the Conference great success!

Thank you very much.

To Lam

General Secretary

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-bieu-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tai-hoi-nghi-toan-quoc-trien-khai-cong-tac-vou-cu-dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-khoa-16-va-dai-bieu-hoi-dong-nhan-dan-cac-cap-nhiem-ky-2026-2031-post923315.html