Vietnam's Nat'l Assembly Elects New President

Vietnam’s National Assembly has named Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president, in a reshuffle of the country’s top leadership amid a sweeping anti-graft campaign, CNN reported.

Photo Insert: Thuong is the youngest member of the party’s Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body, and is considered a veteran of the party having begun his political career at university in communist youth organizations.

In an extraordinary session, lawmakers elected Thuong, 52, after the ruling Communist Party nominated him on Wednesday as president, a largely ceremonial role but one of the top four political positions in the Southeast Asian nation.

He was elected with 98.38% of the votes, according to the parliament’s online portal.

Thuong’s confirmation as president of the one-party state follows the sudden resignation in January of his predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who the party blamed for “violations and wrongdoing” by officials under his control, in what was seen as a major escalation of the country’s “blazing furnace” anti-corruption crackdown.

In his first speech to the parliament as president, Thuong said he will “resolutely” continue the fight against corruption.

“I will be absolutely loyal to the fatherland, the people and the constitution, striving to fulfill the tasks assigned by the party, the state and the people,” Thuong said in a statement broadcast on state television.

Thuong is the youngest member of the party’s Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body, and is considered a veteran of the party having begun his political career at university in communist youth organizations.

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