Citizens should be entitled to directly elect the chairs of the people’s committees of wards and communes so that they can supervise the performance of the elected first-hand, some Vietnamese legislators suggested on Tuesday. This suggestion was put forward at a meeting held by the National Assembly Standing Committee to discuss the draft bill on the organization of local administrations. “If the draft bill includes a rule that ‘citizens directly elect the chairs of the people’s committees of wards and communes so that they can supervise those elected first-hand,’ it will likely be approved by the National Assembly (NA), Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Thai Binh said. If it is the case, that new rule will be one of the breakthroughs of the bill, the minister said.  Binh offered the proposal as the bill drafting board had expressed a proposition that people’s councils at commune and ward levels should be eliminated.   The assembly’s Ethnic Minorities Council chairman Ksor Phuoc supported this proposal. He suggested that the bill should maintain people’s councils only at provincial, municipal, and district levels, and should get rid of people’s councils at ward and commune levels.  And when it is the case, then people in wards and communes should directly elect the chairpersons of their people’s committees, Phuoc said. “This will both ensure people’s right to election and facilitate their supervision of public officials,” he added. Phuoc made the proposal because under current regulations, people’s councils of all levels – not citizens – elect the leaders of people’s committees.  Nguyen Sinh Hung, Chairman of the National Assembly, also expressed his approval of the suggestion. “If a locality has both the people’s committee and people’s council, which will be provided for in the bill, then people’s councils will elect the leaders of people’s committees. But if a locality does not have a people’s council, then the leaders of people’s committees should be elected directly by the residents. This will ensure everyone’s right to democracy,” Hung said. The chairman noted that a project to pilot people’s election of the chairpersons of people’s committees in 500 communes nationwide was already set up, but it has yet to be implemented.Opposing opinions Phung Quoc Hien, Chairman of the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee, wants to maintain people’s councils at ward and commune levels. “Wherever there is an administration, there should be both people’s committees and people’s councils. This will help better manage numerous issues of a locality,” Hien said. Chairman of the NA’s Justice Committee Nguyen Van Hien also approved of maintaining people’s councils at ward and commune levels. “District authorities are not different from those in wards and communes. So why do districts have people’s councils while wards shouldn’t have such bodies?” Hien questioned. He suggested that a poll should be conducted to pool public opinions on this issue.

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