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President Vo Van Thuong resigned due to being caught in a corruption scandal. Photo/Reuters
HANOI – Vietnam's legislative body on Thursday (21/3/2024) appointed Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan as acting head of state. That's after President Vo Van Thuong became the latest high-ranking official to be ousted amid an intensive crackdown on corruption by the ruling Communist Party.
Thuong, 53, was removed from the Politburo for unspecified violations of party rules, and became the second president to resign within a year in Vietnam, where a recent leadership change has been linked to an anti-bribery campaign.
Xuan, one of the few women to hold a senior position in Vietnamese politics, served as president for the second time in just over a year.
“The Politburo has appointed Vo Thi Anh Xuan as acting president…until the National Assembly elects a new president, in accordance with Vietnam's constitution,” reported online newspaper VnExpress. The government also confirmed his appointment.
The president holds a ceremonial role but is one of the top four political positions in the Southeast Asian country.
Xuan fills a six-week vacancy after Nguyen Xuan Phuc stepped down as president last year due to “violations and mistakes” committed by officials under his control.
Thuong is widely considered to be close to aging Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's most influential figure and the architect of a recently intensified anti-corruption campaign.
The party's central committee on Wednesday accepted Thuong's resignation and removed him from the Politburo, the top decision-making body, and his position as head of the National Defense and Security Council. Some 88% of lawmakers supported his removal as president in Thursday's vote.
The committee said Thuong's shortcomings “have had a negative impact on public opinion, affecting the reputation of the Party, the State and himself personally”, without explaining what he had done wrong.