'Special' leadership candidates introduced at Party Congress

Hau A Lenh, deputy head and general secretary of the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, said on the sidelines of the 13th Party Congress that besides those within the normal age requirements, the 12th Central Committee has recommended some of its members as "special" cases for re-election to the 13th Central Committee.

Those recommended meet all the necessary requirements including health, capability and credibility in all of their positions, Lenh said.

As per existing regulations, members of the Party Central Committee must not be older than 60 to be re-elected. Members of the Politburo and the Secretariat must not be older than 65 to be re-elected.

At a press conference on Jan. 22, Mai Van Chinh, deputy head of the Central Organization Committee, had mentioned the likelihood of recommendations being made for the re-election of special candidates.

Current Party regulations stipulate that a Party chief cannot hold the position more than two terms in a row. Asked whether such a regulation could be changed, Chinh had said the issue would be considered by the 13th Party Congress.

The 13th Party Central Committee is expected to have 200 members – 180 official and 20 alternate members. Chinh said that 15-20 percent of the members should be under 50, 70 percent in the 50-60 age group and under 10 percent in the 61 and above group. At least 12 percent of the committee members should be women, he said.

The 13th Party Congress officially opened Tuesday. The nation’s premier political event will select Party, State and National Assembly leaders for the next five years, besides finalizing socio-economic development policies for the 2021-25 period and orientations until 2030 with a vision towards 2045.

The congress has attracted the highest participation so far, with 1,587 delegates representing 5.1 million Party members from across the country.