Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned, state media said Tuesday, after days of rumors he would be fired as part of a major anti-corruption drive that has seen several ministers fired.
Phuc has “submitted his resignation from his assigned position, quit his job, and retired”, state news agency VNA said.
Phuc’s sudden departure is an unusual move in communist Vietnam, where political change is usually carefully orchestrated, with an emphasis on cautious stability.
State media said the communist party had decided it was responsible for misconduct by senior ministers under him during his 2016-2021 prime ministership, before becoming president.
Vietnam clean up
Two deputy prime ministers were fired this month in an anti-corruption purge that led to the arrest of dozens of officials, with many on corruption charges related to deals struck as part of Vietnam’s Covid pandemic response.
Phuc “took political responsibility as a leader when several officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers committed violations and deficiencies, causing serious consequences”, VNA said, citing the official statement of the party’s central committee.
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Earlier this month, the country’s rubber-stamp National Assembly removed Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam from their positions as deputy prime ministers.
Minh was foreign minister while Dam was in charge of handling the country’s Covid-19 pandemic.
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At least 100 officials and businessmen, including Dam’s assistant, have been arrested over the scandal surrounding the distribution of Covid-19 test kits.
Thirty-seven people – many diplomats and senior police officers – have also been arrested in an investigation into the repatriation of Vietnamese people during the pandemic.
– Corruption, infighting –
After closing its borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Vietnam organized nearly 800 charter flights to bring citizens from 60 countries and territories.
But travelers face complicated procedures when paying for plane tickets and exorbitant quarantine fees to return to Vietnam.
Phuc, 68, was ceremonially installed as president in April 2021 after winning praise for the country’s successful handling of the pandemic.
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Authoritarian Vietnam is led by the Communist Party and is officially led by the party’s general secretary, president, and prime minister, with important decisions made by the politburo, which currently has 16 members.
Le Hong Hiep, a fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Phuc’s resignation may have been linked to political conflict.
“This is mainly related to the corruption investigation, but we cannot rule out the possibility that his political rivals also want to remove him from his position for political reasons,” he told AFP.
Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, the architect of Vietnam’s biggest anti-corruption effort, will step down in 2026.
“Some politicians will try to get the (top) prize and because of the competition from rivals – in this case Mr. Phuc is one of them – they may want to remove him to clear the way for another candidate to get the top job. .”