Will consult people about commune name after merger

Village gate in Quynh Doi commune. (Source: Ha Tinh Newspaper).

On April 14, the Department of Home Affairs of Nghe An province said it would guide the People's Committees of relevant districts, cities and towns to direct communes, wards and towns to organize a consultation with voters on the arrangement of commune-level administrative units.

Voters' opinions will be collected before May 10, approved by the People's Council at the commune level before May 15, and approved by the People's Council at the district level before May 25.

The renaming of new administrative boundaries must be based on the opinion of the people who are voters in commune-level administrative units, directly affected by the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, and adjustment of administrative unit boundaries. The opinion of voters is carried out in the form of ballots, the order, procedures, time, ballot form for collecting voters' opinions and other contents are implemented according to the regulations of the Government .

After implementing the procedures for collecting voters' opinions, the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns report the results to the Provincial People's Committee for synthesis and reporting to competent authorities according to regulations.

According to the draft Project on rearranging commune-level administrative units in Nghe An by 2025, after the merger and rearrangement, the province will have 20 district-level administrative units (reduced by 1 unit due to the merger of Cua Lo town into Vinh city), and 411 commune-level administrative units with 364 communes, 18 towns, and 29 wards (reduced by 46 communes and 3 wards).

In recent days, many Nghe An people have had mixed opinions about the plan to name new communes, wards and towns after the merger by combining each commune’s name with one word. With this pairing, people are afraid of losing the names that have been associated with a long history and culture.

Quynh Luu district is the place with the most administrative units merged in Nghe An (17 administrative units have plans to be rearranged). Here, people do not agree with the new name after the merger between Quynh Doi and Quynh Hau communes into Doi Hau. In Thanh Chuong district, there are 2 communes Thanh Giang and Thanh Mai, the district has proposed a new name of Tan Dan commune but did not receive consensus, the expected name of the new commune will be Mai Giang...

Researcher Tran Manh Cuong, Center for Science, Society and Humanities (Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province) said that when changing the name, it is necessary to maintain stability and ensure the continuity of the place name. Retaining the old place name and protecting historical memories is an important issue and deserves attention. Protecting and using the culture of place names helps preserve the feelings and memories of the homeland and the roots of many generations. This action maintains the integrity of historical and cultural heritage and the continuity of socio-economic life.

The selection of village and commune names after the merger must be done carefully and scientifically. Therefore, local authorities must strengthen propaganda, explanation, respect people's wishes, choose a compromise solution, in accordance with regulations to ensure unity, preserve cultural and historical values, and express the unique identity of each locality.

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