Vietnam’s National Defense Minister, Phan Van Giang, has received the highest confidence votes in the country’s assembly, according to the full results disclosed after a voting session held in Hanoi. Minister Giang obtained an impressive 448 high confidence votes, solidifying his strong position within the government. Following closely behind were chairman of the National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue, with 437 high confidence votes. Significantly, the Ministry of Education and Training’s Nguyen Kim Son received the highest number of low confidence votes, totaling 72. Minister Son’s result was closely trailed by the Minister of Science and Technology, who received 71 low confidence votes.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a commendable performance in the confidence votes, garnering 373 high confidence votes, 90 confidence votes, and only 17 low confidence votes. These combined votes secured a total of 480 votes in favor of Prime Minister Chinh.
Earlier, the National Assembly approved a list of 44 officials who would face the confidence votes during the ongoing sixth session. The list included prominent figures such as the President, Vice President, Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly, members of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the National Assembly Secretary General, chairperson of the National Assembly’s Council for Ethnic Affairs, chairpersons of the National Assembly committees, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, other government members, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and the Auditor General of the State Audit Office.
However, certain individuals were excluded from the voting process, including those awaiting retirement and those who were elected in the same year as the confidence votes. Notable figures exempted from the voting were President Vo Van Thuong, Deputy Prime Ministers Tran Hong Ha and Tran Luu Quang, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Dang Quoc Khanh, and Chairman of the Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Le Quang Manh.
In terms of the consequences of the confidence votes, if an official receives more than half but less than two-thirds of low confidence votes, they may be required to resign. On the other hand, if an official accrues at least two-thirds of low confidence votes, they may face potential dismissal. It is worth noting that in the three previous confidence vote sessions held in June 2013, November 2014, and October 2018, no official received over half of their votes as low confidence.
