Do Party Central Committee Meetings Outweigh National Assembly Sessions?

The National Assembly’s 10th session concluded its agenda on Dec. 11, 2025. [1] As the last session of the 15th tenure, it carried a record workload and was tasked with deciding on numerous major national issues. [2]

Throughout each of the sessions, state media provided continuous updates, often broadcasting proceedings live to allow the public to follow debates on draft laws and new policies. This thorough coverage across newspapers and multimedia platforms created the impression that the parliamentary chamber is where the country’s most important decisions are deliberated and finalized.

That impression is accurate, but it is not complete. While the National Assembly indeed passes laws, elects state leaders, and votes on matters of national significance in Việt Nam, the origin of these decisions does not come from the parliamentary chamber. The true strategic direction and core leadership choices are shaped in a more discreet setting: the Party Central Committee meetings.

The National Assembly’s role in formalizing and implementing the will of the Party Central Committee was not unique to the 10th session. This has been the enduring reality ever since the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) became the “leading force of the State and society.”

To understand the context of these major national events, it is necessary to examine the legal standing of the two bodies involved: the National Assembly and CPV Central Committee.

The National Assembly is constitutionally defined as the highest representative body of the people and the supreme organ of state power. To fulfill this role, the Constitution grants it three foundational authorities: constitutional and legislative power, the right to decide the country’s most important matters, and the power of supreme oversight. These powers allow it to address all affairs of the state. [3]

Parallel to the National Assembly is the Central Committee, identified by the Party Charter as the highest leadership body of the CPV between Party Congresses. Consisting of 200 members who hold the greatest power within the Party, this body acts as the “leadership of the leadership,” a role derived from the CPV’s definition in Article 4 of the Constitution as “the leading force of the State and society.” [4]

It is at these Central Committee meetings that strategic directions on major policies—ranging from the economy to national defense and foreign affairs—are determined. Crucially, this is also where top-level personnel decisions are made, including the selection of the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the anticipated “five pillars” of leadership. [5]

On paper, the National Assembly and the Central Committee appear to occupy separate legal spheres: one is the constitutionally established organ of state power, while the other is the political leadership of the ruling party. This distinction is consistent with the doctrine that “the Party leads, the people are the masters.” [6] In practice, however, experts often describe Việt Nam’s National Assembly as a “rubber stamp” under a one-party system. [7]

Party Central Committee Meetings “Guide” National Assembly Sessions

The perception of the National Assembly as a “rubber-stamp” institution stems from the fact that its sessions rigidly adhere to the orientations set by the Party Central Committee.

Typically, the Assembly convenes two regular sessions per year, along with extraordinary sessions when necessary. Its mandate covers essential tasks: passing laws, approving state budgets, electing key officials, and overseeing the Government, Courts, and Procuracy. However, these activities are tightly aligned with guidelines and directives from the Central Committee. The Communist Party has been transparent about this dynamic, openly emphasizing the need to strengthen its leadership over all legislative activity. [8]

The events of 2025 illustrate this reality clearly. At the 9th extraordinary session (Feb. 12–19, 2025), the Assembly passed a series of major laws, including the amended Law on Organization of the Government and the amended Law on Organization of Local Administration. These changes were designed to restructure the state apparatus specifically to satisfy Central Committee Resolution No. 18/2017. [9][10][11]

This alignment continued at the 9th regular session (May 5–June 27), where the Assembly passed 34 laws—some of which had just been amended months earlier in February. [12] Most significantly, the Assembly adopted a resolution amending the 2013 Constitution. This constitutional amendment was completed at breakneck speed, finalized within just 43 days. [13][14][15]

These rapid legislative actions, including the rushed revision of numerous important laws, served a singular purpose: to complete the legal framework for streamlining the state apparatus as dictated by Resolution No. 60, issued by the Party Central Committee on April 12, 2025. [16]

What about the recently concluded 10th session?

This session required the National Assembly to review and approve the largest legislative workload in its history: 53 projects in total, comprising 49 draft laws and 4 resolutions. [17][18][19] Among these were significant bills such as the revised Cybersecurity Law, the revised Press Law, and amendments to the laws on the enforcement of criminal and civil judgments. As usual, the content of these bills adhered strictly to the Party’s orientations.

This alignment is visible in the draft dossiers submitted by the Government, which always include a mandatory section titled “political basis” or “necessity of promulgation.” This section explicitly outlines the Party’s policies on the issue at hand, citing resolutions and conclusions from the Politburo, Secretariat, and other Party bodies. These documents serve as the “compass” for all lawmaking.

For instance, the proposal to revise the Press Law relies on Resolution No. 52/2019, Conclusion No. 23/2017, and various other Politburo directives to justify its amendments, with the stated objective of strengthening Party leadership over the press. [20][21][22][23] 

Similarly, the amended Education Law mandates a single unified set of textbooks for the national education system, a directive derived directly from Politburo Resolution No. 71/2025. [24][25]

Through this process, the Party’s resolutions are translated by the National Assembly into binding legal documents applicable nationwide.

It is also notable that while the National Assembly is constitutionally the highest organ of state power—ostensibly focused on national governance—it devoted time during the 10th session to discussing and contributing feedback to draft documents for the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. [26][27]

“The Party Selects, then the People Elect”

The influence of the Central Committee extends beyond lawmaking into an equally crucial domain: the selection of top state leadership.

Constitutionally, the National Assembly possesses the power to elect, dismiss, and remove the country’s highest officials, including the President, the Prime Minister, and the Chair of the National Assembly. These roles are central to the “five pillars” of leadership. This authority is intended to uphold the principle of representative democracy, ensuring that state power ultimately belongs to the people.

However, a gap exists between this constitutional theory and political practice. While the National Assembly is legally the supreme organ for selecting leaders, the actual decision-making process occurs elsewhere.

Before each Party Congress, the Central Committee holds a decisive meeting to finalize the personnel list for the next tenure. This includes candidates for the “five pillars,” the Politburo, and the Secretariat. [28] This final selection is the result of multiple rounds of screening at previous Central Committee sessions. Consequently, when the Party Congress convenes, delegates vote on this pre-determined list, with the results almost invariably matching the pre-approved slate. [29]

The Assembly’s Role in Personnel Validation

Following the Party’s nominations, the National Assembly is tasked with electing or approving state leadership positions—including the President, Prime Minister, and National Assembly Chair—typically at the session immediately following a Party Congress.

The recently concluded 10th session served as a clear demonstration of this process. Despite having only six months remaining in its term, the Assembly oversaw a significant reshuffle of key positions in both the cabinet and the legislature.

On Oct. 25, the National Assembly executed several personnel decisions within its authority: [30]

• Deputy Prime Ministers: Approved the appointments of Phạm Thị Thanh Trà and Hồ Quốc Dũng, both members of the Party Central Committee. [31][32][33]
• Cabinet Ministers: Approved Lê Hoài Trung as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Đỗ Thanh Bình as Minister of Home Affairs, and Trần Đức Thắng as Minister of Agriculture and Environment. [34][35][36][37]
• National Assembly Officials: Elected Lê Quang Mạnh as Secretary-General and Head of the National Assembly Office; Nguyễn Hữu Đông as Head of the Committee for Deputy Affairs; and Nguyễn Thanh Hải as Head of the Committee for Science, Technology, and Environment. [38]

All candidates had been “considered” and pre-approved by the Central Committee during its 13th meeting (Oct. 6–8), allowing the Politburo to formally recommend them to the Assembly. [39]

Looking ahead to the 14th National Congress, the 15th Central Committee meeting—the date of which remains unknown—is expected to be the decisive venue where the final roster for these key positions will be selected and finalized. [40][41]

As for the National Assembly, the new legislature is set to elect the top state leaders at its first session (scheduled for April–May 2026), following the election of the 16th National Assembly on March 15, 2026, and the conclusion of the 14th Party Congress. [42]

The sequence of events confirms the process: the Party first finalizes the personnel list at a Central Committee meeting—in this case, the 15th meeting—and the National Assembly subsequently votes to approve leaders based on that slate.

This mechanism, combined with the legislative patterns observed earlier, reveals a concerted effort to formalize the “unity” between the “Party’s will” and “the people’s will.” [43] The evidence lies in the outcome: the decisions of the National Assembly, the country’s highest representative body, consistently mirror the directives articulated in earlier Central Committee meetings.

Yet, this seamless alignment invites a difficult question: Does the National Assembly truly represent “the people’s will,” or does it merely operationalize the Party’s will?

While the Party’s intentions remain clear, the people are left in uncertainty, particularly amidst the political upheavals triggered by rapid legislative changes. Even now, as speculation mounts regarding the date of the 15th Central Committee meeting—an event that could reshape the country and impact millions of livelihoods—state media have remained silent. [44]

It seems likely that by the time the public is finally informed, it will be too late. Everything will have already been decided by the Party’s will.

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Trường An wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Dec. 10, 2025. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights for its English translation.