Vietnam lawmakers to hold rare extraordinary meeting

Vietnam’s legislature is expected to hold a rare extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, according to three sources, following a similar gathering earlier this month when two deputy prime ministers were dismissed.

The meeting of the National Assembly would come as the communist country pursues a « blazing furnace » anti-corruption crackdown that has already led to the arrest of a health minister and investigations into hundreds of senior officials.

Three sources familiar with government and parliament affairs, who declined to be identified due to the political sensitivity of the matter, said the legislature may ratify resignations of more high-ranking officials this week.

This would signal a further escalation in the corruption crackdown even as concerns grow that it may affect economic sentiment and investment.

A National Assembly information official declined to comment on the possible meeting. Calls to two other parliament officials went unanswered.

Such meetings are rare in Vietnam’s rubber-stamp legislature and it is unusual for two to be held close together, or in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, the country’s long holiday period.

The assembly on Jan. 5 voted to dismiss two of the government’s deputy prime ministers, in a move sources said might be tied to graft scandals.

Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four « pillars »: the powerful Communist Party secretary, the largely ceremonial president, the prime minister and the chair of the assembly.

Reuters – January 16, 2023