Break the limit again! Nguyen Phu Trong elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam for the 3rd consecutive time

The first meeting of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) was held today (31), and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong was re-elected General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee for a rare third five-year term, consolidating his position as the country’s most powerful political leader in decades.

According to foreign media reports, Nguyen Phu Trong was first elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 2011, and won the power struggle in 2016, breaking the restriction of the party constitution that the top leadership cannot be re-elected at the age of 65, and was re-elected as General Secretary of the Central Committee.

According to the list of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam published today by Vietnam’s official media, Vietnam News Agency, Nguyen Phu Trong, 76, was re-elected as General Secretary of the Central Committee. This is another break with the party constitution, which stipulates that the same person cannot hold the post of general secretary for more than two consecutive terms.

Unlike China and North Korea, Vietnam does not have a single strongman in charge of its political operations. After reunification in 1976, the leadership system was based on the Soviet Union’s “four-headed carriage” system, in which the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the prime minister, the president of the country and the chairman of the National Assembly each hold real power to balance the forces of each party.

However, Nguyen Phu Trong broke this system after coming to power, and in 2018, after the death of former President Tran Dai Quang, he took on the roles of general secretary and state president. According to the list of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee released today, Nguyen Phu Trong still holds the post of State President and the government Prime Minister is Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

According to the agenda, the National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam will close tomorrow morning and the new central leadership will be revealed.