Luong Cuong was elected president unanimously (440 votes) and will serve until 2026, replacing To Lam, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party.
Luong Cuong was elected president of Vietnam on Monday by the country’s parliament, a position with little executive power that changed hands in recent years as part of an anti-corruption campaign.
Cuong, 67 years old and with a long military career, was elected president unanimously (440 votes) and took office in the same parliamentary session, held behind closed doors, as reported by VOV, the Vietnamese national radio station controlled by the Communist Party in strength.
Former head of the political department of the Vietnamese army, Cuong will serve until 2026 and replaces To Lam, which is also general secretary of the Communist Party, that is, the highest authority in the country and who resigned from his position to preserve the division of power.
To Lam had been head of state since May, replacing Vo Van Thuong, who resigned in March after being accused of unspecified irregularities.
Thoung, in turn, was appointed president a year earlier, replacing Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who resigned due to corrupt practices under his command.
In recent years, the Vietnam has carried out an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign, removing top political and business officials. previously considered untouchable.
The campaign was led in 2016 by the former general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, who died in July and was replaced by To Lam.
Although the presidency of the country is a position with less power than that of general secretary of the Communist Party or prime minister, Thuong was at the forefront of a possible succession in the leadership of the party in the Congress scheduled for 2026.
The anti-corruption campaign was considered by some analysts as a pretext for the faction of the party most linked to Marxist principles and rapprochement with China to prevail over the most liberal and pro-American one.
To Lam chose China for his first official trip abroad, after being appointed secretary of the Communist Party in August, although Vietnam continues with its so-called “bamboo diplomacy”, characterized by flexibility and the refusal to align itself with a specific bloc.
During the parliamentary session, the Prime Minister Pham Minh reported on the goal of achieving gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7% to 7.5% by 2025which would consolidate Vietnam as one of the fastest growing countries in Asia.
Among the international reactions known in the meantime, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Luong Cuong and called for deepening bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Hanoi.
“I sincerely congratulate you on your election as president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” declared the Russian leader, in a telegram released by the Kremlin (Russian presidency).
Putin wished his Vietnamese counterpart success and health and stressed that relations between the two countries “are developing in a spirit of broad strategic partnership.”
“I hope that your presidency will contribute to the future growth of fruitful bilateral cooperation in all spheres. “This will undoubtedly serve the interests of the friendly peoples of Russia and Vietnam and ensure security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.
Source: Observadora
