Vietnam begins internal party election

Vietnam’s progressive prime minister was among preliminary nominations for the Communist Party’s central committee on Sunday, an official said, maintaining the possibility of him contesting the party leadership to be decided this week.

The political future of Nguyen Tan Dung remains uncertain, however, after he was not among leadership candidates agreed by top decision-makers at a recent meeting, a surprise twist that saw the five-yearly congress of the secretive party open on Thursday under a cloud of controversy. His committee nomination at an early stage of the internal election process means he technically could still launch a bid to become party chief. Dung, 66, has not spoken publicly about his future and his absence from Sunday’s preliminary nominations would have ruled him out. Dung was until recently tipped by diplomats and analysts to become the next party boss, which could have strengthened the hand of his progressive faction. He is widely seen as a moderniser and credited with driving recent economic reforms.

Vu Ngoc Hoang, a senior Central Propaganda Department official, confirmed that Dung and several other politburo members were among those nominated. “But that’s only a list,” he told reporters. “Every person introduced gets on to the list,” he said, stressing the nominations were preliminary. Dung’s inclusion is likely to add to excitement and social media speculation about the possibility of a leadership showdown at what is normally considered a stale, procedural affair. To stand a chance, Dung would have to decline his preliminary nomination to the central committee. The 1,510 congress delegates could then vote to reject his withdrawal.