Vietnam National Assembly head resigns amid graft purge

The head of Vietnam’s National Assembly has resigned, the ruling Communist Party said Friday, one of the most senior leaders to fall in a sweeping anti-corruption purge.

Vuong Dinh Hue asked to step down because of “violations and shortcomings”, the party said in a statement on its website.

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Thousands of people, including top officials and senior business leaders, have been caught up in the Southeast Asian country’s “blazing furnace” crackdown on graft.

“He violated regulations on what party members cannot do and regulations on the responsibility for setting an example for officials and party members,” the party statement said.

“Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue’s violations and shortcomings have caused bad public opinion, affecting the reputation of the Party, State and himself.”

Hue was one of Vietnam’s four most powerful leaders as head of the one-party state’s rubber-stamp national assembly.

Another, president Vo Van Thuong, was forced out last month after just a year in the job — also for unspecified “violations and shortcomings”.

Hue’s resignation has been accepted by the party’s central committee but the National Assembly will have to hold a session to confirm the move.

According to an earlier announcement, the assembly will convene its regular summer sitting on May 20.

The political upheaval is highly unusual in Vietnam, where for years all changes were carefully orchestrated with an emphasis on cautious stability.

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General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong — Vietnam’s most powerful figure — is regarded as the architect behind the anti-corruption drive, which has proved popular with the public.

But analysts warn the turmoil may threaten the country’s reputation for stability, which has helped it build a highly successful export-driven manufacturing economy, turning out products for major global brands.

As well as political leaders, major business figures have also fallen foul of the purge, with property tycoon Truong My Lan sentenced to death earlier this month in a multi-billion-dollar fraud case.

All of this comes as Vietnam seeks increased foreign investment — particularly from the Unites States — to develop its economy from low-value manufacturing jobs to high-tech industries.

– Infrastructure case –

While the party statement gave no details of Hue’s transgressions, police on Monday made public the arrest of his assistant Pham Thai Ha for alleged “power abuse”.

The 48-year-old Ha, who was also the National Assembly’s deputy office manager, was taken into custody as police expanded their probe into a case concerning the public infrastructure developer Thuan An group.

The group, established in 2004 with initial registered capital of only $150,000, saw that amount increase by 200 times in 2021, reaching $31.4 million, the government said in a report.

In recent years it has won several bidding contracts worth millions of dollars to build bridges and roads in several cities and provinces across Vietnam.

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Seven people, including state officials and the group’s bosses, have been taken into custody in connection with the case.

Vice president Vo Thi Anh Xuan is serving as acting president after Thuong’s resignation until a full-time replacement is chosen.

The political upheaval has pared Vietnam’s ruling politburo back from 18 members in early 2021 to just 13.

© Agence France-Presse