“Low credit” cadres to face votes of confidence PANO – The National Assembly (NA) on the morning of October 23rd listened to the Statement and Report on the draft resolution on conducting votes of confidence for the holders of posts appointed or voted by NA and people’s councils. Almost all the members of the NA Legal Committee agreed on the main themes of the draft. Necessity for votes of confidence The Resolution of the fourth meeting of the Party Central Committee on several urgent issues in Party building points to the need to build confidence in the holders of positions voted or approved by NA or people’s councils at all levels. Votes of confidence for high-ranking officials voted or approved by NA or People’s Councils at all levels have not been conducted before due to a number of reasons. These include a lack of a sufficient legal framework for NA or people’s councils to organise votes of confidence; unclear relationship between the assessment of cadres in general and a vote of censure for the holders of positions voted or approved by NA or people’s councils; and unclear connection between the two procedures for confidence collection and voting. To implement the Resolution of the fourth meeting of the Party Central Committee and the NA Resolution on several reforms and renewals to improve the quality of NA activities, it is necessary to complete the draft on collecting and voting censure for the holders of positions voted or approved by NA or People’s Councils at all levels. Chairman of the NA Legal Committee Phan Trung Ly stressed that an annual vote of confidence could encourage officials to try harder to fulfil their tasks as well as helping competent agencies readjust positions in an effort to improve the effectiveness and sufficiency of activities of the State machinery. How to apply votes of confidence Top NA official, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nuong underlined that the Resolution of the fourth meeting of the Party Central Committee says that officials who lose votes of confidence or fail to fulfil their tasks in two consecutive years must be removed from their current posts. Meanwhile, the law on public workers also states that public workers who have not fulfilled their tasks for two consecutive years, or appear to be incapable of doing their jobs, must be dismissed from their current duties, she added. Under the documents, the NA draft resolution clarifies the method of holding a vote of confidence and the effect of the results of the vote. According to the draft, after holding an annual poll of confidence, the NA Standing Committee or the standing committees of people’s councils hold the responsibility of reporting the results to the involved agencies, which manage the cadres. The agencies will then deal with related personnel issues in line with the results of the poll for individual cadres. Officials who are rated as “low credit” cadres by more than a half of the total NA deputies can lodge resignation petitions to the agencies or individuals that have nominated them. The agencies or individuals will submit the cases to the NA or people’s councils for further decisions. If holders of positions voted or approved by NA or people’s councils are classified as “low credit” cadres by a two-thirds majority of deputies, the standing committees of NA or people’s councils will immediately hold a vote of confidence for the cadres and ask the competent agencies to prepare for substitutes. NA or people’s councils can also hold votes of confidence for cadres who are rated as “low credit” cadres for two consecutive years. QĐND-Translated by Thu Nguyen