Politics of Vietnam

The Vietnamese political system is authoritarian, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being tightly restricted.^[2] There are no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, all religious activity is controlled by the CPV, dissent is not permitted, and civil rights are curtailed. Elections in Vietnam occur under a single-party authoritarian political system. Vietnam is among the few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold any direct multiparty elections at the national level. The competitive nature of the elections is highly constrained by the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Vietnam, limitations on free speech, and government interference with the elections.^[3]


The National Assembly is a rubber stamp unicameral legislative body. The National Assembly has 500 members, indirectly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The legislature is, according to the constitution, the highest organ of the state. Its powers includes the enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; the adoption of the government budget; supervising the Government of Vietnam and other holders of public powers responsible to the National Assembly; and appointing members of the judiciary. The Vietnamese constitution and legislation provides for regular elections for the office of the President of the Socialist Republic, the National Assembly and the People's Councils.


The President is elected by National Assembly for a five-year term and acts as the de jure commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and Chairman of the Council for Defence and Security. However, the president has the right to decide on executive brands. The government (Chính phủ), the main executive state power of Vietnam, is headed by the Prime Minister, who has several Deputy Prime Ministers and several ministers in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for the implementation of political, economic, cultural, social, national defence, security and external activities of the state.


Vietnam has a judicial system governed by the Constitution of Vietnam and national legislation enacted by National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court (Tòa án Nhân dân Tối cao) is the highest court of appeal in Vietnam. There are other specialised courts in Vietnam, including the Central Military Court, the Criminal Court, the Civil Court and the Appeal Court. The Supreme People's Procuracy observes the implementation of state organs and makes sure that Vietnamese citizens follow the law.^[4]