Continuing to reorganize the political system at the commune level will result in a larger scale and more responsibilities.

The Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee recently issued Conclusion No. 127-KL/TW on conducting research and proposing further restructuring of the political system's organizational apparatus, and directed the temporary suspension of Party congresses at the commune and district levels. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc, former Director of the Institute of Party History, Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy, discusses these issues.

PV: Sir, in Conclusion No. 127-KL/TW (Conclusion 127), the Politburo directed the temporary suspension of Party congresses at the commune and district levels following the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party. How do you assess this?

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuc: In Conclusion No. 126-KL/TW of the Politburo and the Secretariat on some contents and tasks for continuing to reorganize and streamline the political system's apparatus in 2025, it was requested to study the orientation of continuing to reorganize and eliminate intermediate administrative levels (district level); to develop a plan for continuing to reorganize the commune level in accordance with the new organizational model, proposing the organizational structure, functions, tasks, powers, and responsibilities of the commune level; and to orient the merger of some provincial-level administrative units.

In Conclusion No. 127 on the implementation of research and proposals for further restructuring of the political system's organizational apparatus, the Politburo and the Secretariat requested research on the orientation of merging some provincial-level units, eliminating district-level organizations, and merging some commune-level units.

Therefore, this year we must study the abolition of the district level, which is the intermediate level, and the merger of some provincial-level units. Consequently, the commune level needs to be reorganized to meet the requirements and criteria regarding population, natural area, technical infrastructure, and social infrastructure, ensuring a scientific approach . Abolishing the district level and merging some provinces means that temporarily suspending the organization of Party congresses at the commune and district levels, until after the 11th Central Committee meeting, is a scientific and reasonable solution.

Many argue that abolishing the district level will significantly impact the role of the commune level. Especially since one-third of district police forces have ceased operations, the role of commune police is already very demanding. Therefore, in this restructuring, we need to carefully consider how to reorganize the activities of the commune level to ensure effective operation, sir?

- Going forward, the commune level will be organized on a much larger scale, and its functions and responsibilities will differ from the current ones. This means that communes will be granted greater powers. Because with the abolition of the district level, all directives will come directly from the province to the commune. Therefore, the requirements and tasks of the commune level will be different, and its scale will be larger in terms of population and area. In particular, according to Conclusion 127, several commune-level units will also need to be merged.

The commune level will have a larger scale.

The organizational structure at the commune level will be different; what will the number of people be? What will their functions and responsibilities be? This needs to be recalculated scientifically, ensuring smooth operation from the provincial level directly down to the commune. Therefore, there will only be three levels: central, provincial, and commune.

Initially, one-third of the district police force has ceased operations, and this will soon be the case for the entire district level. District-level personnel will be reassigned to reinforce commune-level forces, with some being deployed to the province. This will strengthen the force across the party, government, police, and military sectors. The Ministry of National Defense will issue separate regulations regarding military organization.

Recently, the decisive directives from the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat have truly been a revolution in streamlining the organizational structure to make it more effective and efficient. After the restructuring at the central level, now the Party and government organizations at the provincial level have been basically reorganized and began operating under the new structure from March 1st. According to Conclusion 127, everything must be done very quickly in the coming period, some tasks even needing to be completed in the first or second quarter, before the commune and provincial-level congresses, leading up to the National Party Congress in early 2026.

What are his expectations for the country's socio-economic development after the merger of the provinces?

- It would be wonderful if we could abolish the district level, merge the provincial level, and streamline the organizational structure. We should have done this when Resolution 18 of 2017 was issued.

Now, the Central Committee and the Politburo have decided that this is in line with the development trend and the current cadre, as well as the wishes of Party members and the people. The people only want the country to develop better, not to be burdened too much. The current system is too cumbersome, with too many intermediaries. For example, Laos has not had a district level for decades; the province directs directly down to the commune. They still do well, while we still have an intermediate level, the district level, which becomes an obstacle and causes delays.

Thank you very much, sir!

Review, amend, and supplement the regulations of the Party and the Constitution.

In Conclusion 127, the Politburo and the Secretariat assigned the Party Committee of the Government to preside over and coordinate with the Central Organization Committee, the Party Committee of the National Assembly, the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, central mass organizations, and relevant agencies to direct the research and development of a proposal and submission to the Politburo on the merger of some provincial-level administrative units, the elimination of district-level units, and the continued merger of commune-level administrative units. In addition, the Politburo and the Secretariat requested the review, amendment, and supplementation of Party regulations, the Constitution, and State laws.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tiep-tiep-sap-xep-to-chuc-bo-may-cua-he-thong-chinh-tri-cap-xa-se-co-quy-mo-lon-nhiem-vu-cung-nhieu-hon-10301205.html