Legislators consider shortening tenure of 15th National Assembly

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh presented a proposal on shortening the tenure of the 15th NA and People's Councils at all levels for 2021-2026 during a plenary meeting at the hall on May 12 morning as part of the ongoing 9th session of the legislature.

Lawmakers also heard a proposal on the national election day for the 16th-tenure NA and all-level People's Councils for 2026–2030.

Based on the Party's guidelines and practical requirements, it is necessary to shorten the interval between the National Party Congress and the first session of the newly-elected NA and People’s Councils, aiming to promptly consolidate high-level leadership positions, ensuring consistency, stability, and continuity in the key personnel in agencies of the Party, State, Government, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organisations. It will also enable the new Party committees at all levels to swiftly implement the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and all-level Party congresses.

To achieve the above goals while ensuring sufficient time to complete electoral procedures, the NA Standing Committee has proposed shortening the term of the 15th NA and People's Council for 2021-2026 by about three months, ending in early April instead of July 2026. Meanwhile, the proposed election date is tentatively set for March 15, 2026.

According to the proposal and report explaining the draft law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Election of Deputies to the NA and People's Councils presented at the meeting, the draft law aims to ensure the Party’s absolute leadership, align with the Party and State policies on streamlining the political apparatus, facilitate early elections and the shortening of the NA’s term, and enhance the quality and effectiveness of the NA’s operations.

The draft law removes all provisions related to district-level People’s Councils; reviews and gives amendments to 47 out of 98 articles of the current law, keeping revisions under half of the total articles. It also shortens the election process timeline, with most opinions supporting reducing the procedures to 42 days.

In the morning, legislators also heard a proposal and a report on the draft laws on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Civil Procedure Code, the Law on Administrative Procedure, the Law on Justice for Minors, the Law on Bankruptcy, and the Law on Mediation and Dialogue at Court.

After listening to a report explaining the draft Law on Corporate Income Tax, legislators scrutinised contentious contents of the document at the hall./.