The country’s name should be maintained to continue affirming the goal to build socialism in Vietnam, and Article 4 of the Constitution should remain unchanged, said most National Assembly deputies.

They voiced the same opinions at yesterday’s meeting of the fifth session of the 13th NA, where NA deputies were discussing the proposed amendments to the 1992 Constitution. In regard to the name of the country, there are some opinions that want the name “The Socialist Republic of Vietnam” to be changed into the former name of the country in 1945: “The Democratic Republic of Vietnam”. Holders of these opinions, including deputy head of the NA delegation of Hanoi Chu Son Ha, explained that this name is closely connected with the birth of the first republican regime in Vietnam and that it was officially stated in the Declaration of Independence read by President Ho Chi Minh on September 2, 1945.

In addition, the name affirms a reality that the country’s political regime is republican and that the State of Vietnam’s nature is democratic. However, at least 20 other deputies argued that the name should be maintained to continue affirming the goal to build socialism in Vietnam. One of these deputies is Major General Huynh The Ky, director of Ninh Thuan Province Police Department, who said, “The opinion suggesting that the name of the country be changed is improper.” “The name ‘The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ was approved by the National Assembly on July 2, 1976 after southern Vietnam was totally liberated and the country was reunified. It has since been used stably, closely associated with the peace, national independence, and unification gained by the nation,” Ky said. The name affirms the nations’ goal to successfully build socialism in Vietnam, the official said.Party is the only leader of nation During their discussion, NA deputies agreed to the role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in its leadership over the country, as stated in Article 4 of the Constitution.

The article reads, “The Communist Party of Vietnam, the vanguard of the Vietnamese working class and loyal representative of the interests of the working class, the working people and the whole nation, who adheres to Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, is the force assuming leadership of the State and society. All organizations of the Party shall operate within the framework of the Constitution and the law.” One of the deputies who support the maintenance of the article is Truong Thi Hue from Thai Nguyen Province, who said, “It is undeniable that the great achievements gained by the nation in the past years have resulted from the sound leadership of the Party.” With a stronger view, Major General Ky required that the article should be amended to show the Party as the “only force” assuming leadership of the State and society. Earlier the Constitution Amendment Drafting Committee also said, “It is necessary to maintain Article 4 that regulates the role of leadership of the Party, since the article affirms the historical nature and the objective necessity of the Party’s leadership over the nation’s revolutionary process and the building and safeguarding of the fatherland.”