Pham Diem
State and Law Research Institute
After the anti-US war of resistance ended victoriously, Vietnam has embarked on a new era- the era of peace, national reunification and reconstruction.
I. General election to the National Assembly of the whole country, official reunification of Vietnam
The complete victory of the anti-US war of resistance has brought about total independence for Vietnam and, of course, national reunification. In fact, after that victory, there still existed, though temporarily, in Vietnam two states: The Democratic Republic of Vietnam State in the North and the Republic of South Vietnam State in the South. These two States, therefore, had to be unified by, first of all, holding a general election to the National Assembly of the whole country the supreme State power body. The official unification of the States also meant the official reunification of Vietnam, thus creating conditions for national reunification in other domains.
Official unification of the states was carried out through three steps:
1. The political consultative conference for national reunification: This conference was held on November 15-21, 1975 and participated by a North Vietnam delegation nominated by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and a South Vietnam delegation nominated jointly by the Central Committee of the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and its Advisory Council.
The consultative conference discussed and decided on the requirements and contents of the cause of complete national reunification, steps and measures to achieve the unification of the States, of which the immediate important task was to hold a general election under the universal suffrage principles to elect the National Assembly of the whole country.
Later, the outcomes of the political consultative conference were adopted by the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Central Committee of the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam as well as its Advisory Council in a joint meeting.
The political consultative conference was a preparatory step of decisive nature in the process of national reunification.
2. The National Assembly general election
Immediately after the political consultative conference, the expeditious and careful preparations for such general election were in full swing. The revolutionary administration in South Vietnam reinstated civil rights to over 95% of the people who had worked for the former administration and finished their reformatory classes. The nomination of candidates for the general election was conducted in accordance with the Law on Election of Deputies to the National Assembly in the North and the Ordinance on Election of Deputies to the National Assembly in the South. The lists of candidates were deliberated by grassroots mass organizations before they were sent to the National Reunification Front for consultation and unanimous recommendation.
On April 25, 1976, more than 23 million voters representing 98.77% of the total eligible voters throughout Vietnam went to the polls to elect National Assembly deputies, actually making this a festive day of the entire Vietnamese nation, the festive day of national reunification.
492 deputies were elected, of whom 80 were workers, 100 were peasants, 54 were armymen, 141 were politicians, 98 were intellectuals and patriotic personalities and 13 were religious people, thus represented the national unity bloc.
So, after 30 years of hard and staunch struggle, the Vietnamese people once again witnessed the general election which was, however, conducted in a circumstance where the revolutionary posture and force became much more stronger than those in the first year of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945). The victory of the 1976 general election was the biggest political victory of Vietnam following the nation’s great triumph over the US imperialists in the 1975 spring, which ushered in an era of peace, independence and unification for the entire Vietnam. With such victory, the Vietnamese nation has further reaffirmed its determination and iron will to build a Vietnam of peace, independence, reunification and prosperity.
The success of the general election was of decisive significance for the accomplishment of national reunification.
3. The common National Assembly of the whole country held its first session from June 24 to July 3, 1976 and adopted very important resolutions:
- The resolution on the name, national flag, national anthem and the Capital of Vietnam, in which the National Assembly named the country the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- The resolution on referring to the whole country’s National Assembly elected on April 25, 1976 as the VIth National Assembly in order to express the continuous and consistent development of the revolutionary State of Vietnam.
- The resolution on the establishment of six Commissions of the National Assembly.
- The resolution on the setting up of the Committee for Drafting the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- The resolution on organization and operation of the State pending the new Constitution, which clearly prescribed: “The State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is organized to include at the central level the National Assembly and its Standing Committee; the State President and two Vice-Presidents; the Government Council, the Defense Council, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy”, and, “at the local level, the following administrative levels of the province and centrally-run city; the rural and urban district as well as provincial capital and city; the commune and equivalent level. All the above-mentioned administrative levels have their corresponding People’s Councils and People’s Committees being the executive bodies.”
The new National Assembly elected officials to hold key positions of the State bodies at the central level as prescribed by the above-said resolution. So, the unification of the organizational structure of the State was completed.
The first session of the VIth National Assembly constituted a very important event in the political life in Vietnam and had the world-wide resonance then. It was the session where the national unification in terms of the State was accomplished, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was set up and the reunification of Vietnam was officiated.
II. Organization and operation of the National Assembly
The new Constitution passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1980 was the Constitution of the reunified Vietnam before the national cause of “doi moi” (renewal), which was made on the basis of inheritance and further modification of the 1959 Constitution.
Under this Constitution, the position and functions of the National Assembly were defined more adequately and specifically than in the 1959 Constitution: “The National Assembly is the highest representative agency of the people and the supreme State power body of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (Article 82). So, with such provision, the 1980 Constitution clearly affirmed two basic characters of the National Assembly: being the people’s representative and the supreme State power body. Its people-representing character is reflected through the close connection between the National Assembly and the people, with the National Assembly being considered the concentrated reflection of will, aspiration and interests of the entire population. With the character of being the supreme State power body, the National Assembly is guaranteed to have the supreme position in the State apparatus structure along the direction that all State powers are concentrated into the National Assembly.
Regarding the organization of the National Assembly under the 1980 Constitution, the National Assembly Standing Committee was replaced by a new agency named the State Council which not only was the standing body of the National Assembly but also functioned as the collective head of State (as the 1980 Constitution abandoned the State presidency institution). The 1980 Constitution also established the title of National Assembly chairmanship. So, the National Assembly chairmanship and vice-chairmanship were not power institution but largely administrative positions for administration and coordination aiming to ensure the efficient operations of the National Assembly. It also set up for the first time the Nationalities Council of the National Assembly, reaffirming the Vietnamese State’s great care for matters related to the various ethnic groups in Vietnam. Also under the 1980 Constitution, the National Assembly’s Commissions saw new steps of development as compared to the 1959 Constitution, with their functions as the standing bodies of the National Assembly in various domains of the social life. Such standing commissions studied and verified draft laws and ordinances assigned to them by the National Assembly and the State Council, proposed to the National Assembly and the State Council matters falling under their respective functions, and assisted the National Assembly and the State Council in exercising their supervisory power.
In reality, the National Assembly of Vietnam in the 1976-1986 period went through three legislatures:
- The National Assembly of the Vth Legislature was elected on April 6, 1975 with 424 deputies, including 93 workers, 90 peasants, 93 intellectuals, 28 army men, 8 religious people, 71 ethnic minority people, 137 women and 142 youths. It operated for one year with two regular sessions before the April 1976 general election was organized to elect the National Assembly of the reunified Vietnam (the VIth National Assembly).
- The National Assembly of the VIth Legislature with a five-year term (1976-1981) and 7 sessions.
- The National Assembly of the VIIth Legislature was elected on April 26, 1981. Of the 414 newly-elected deputies, 100 were workers; 92, peasants; 49, army men; 121, politicians; 15, religious people; 73, ethnic minority people; 108, women; and 90 were youths. The VIIth National Assembly was organized and operating under the 1980 Constitution. At its first session (June 25-July 4, 1981), the National Assembly elected State leaders. At its 10th session (in December 1985), the National Assembly adopted a resolution on prolonging its term for one year pending the VIth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (in December 1986) to decide on the comprehensive renewal of the country. Consequently, the VIIth National Assembly had a term of 6 years with 12 sessions.
Within more than 10 years of operation (1975-1986), Vietnam’s National Assembly discussed and voted on important national policies, and passed the new Constitution (1980), the Penal Code (1985) and 10 following laws:
- The Law on Election of National Assembly Deputies.
- The Law on Organization of the National Assembly and the State Council.
- The Law on Organization of the Council of Ministers.
- The Law on Organization of the People’s Courts.
- The Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies.
- The Law on Organization of the People’s Councils and the People’s Committees.
- The Law on Election of the People’s Council Deputies.
- The Law on Military Service Obligation.
- The Law on Officers of Vietnam People’s Army.
- The Law on Marriage and Family.
Besides, the State Council adopted 15 ordinances.
Panoramically, during the pre-“doi moi” (renovation) period of more than a decade (1975-1986) following Vietnam’s victory over the US imperialists, the most striking event was the general election to the National Assembly of the reunified Vietnam. The organization and operation of the National Assembly during that time were still heavily formalistic and the effectiveness and efficiency thereof were not so high. Consequently, the question of great urgency and vitality for Vietnam then was to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the nation in general and the State and the National Assembly in particular.-