~ Le Vięt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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[Year 2002]

Vietnam's National Assembly approves second term for reformist prime minister

HANOI - Vietnam's National Assembly approved a second term for its reformist prime minister on Thursday — a sign that the country will push ahead with economic change even as it grapples with a corruption scandal. The vote for Prime Minister Phan Van Khai gives the government's official seal to a decision already taken by the party two weeks ago. Khai was the only candidate running for the post under a system monopolized by the Communists.

He received about 94 percent of votes cast by the assembly's 498 members, said an assembly official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Khai reportedly offered to resign several times during his first term because of frustration over the slow pace of reforms. Those reforms have picked up in the past year. "The most important thing is to build a transparent and strong administrative system, improve the qualifications of civil servants, and push back and prevent corruption, wastefulness and bureaucracy," he said in an acceptance speech.

The 68-year-old Soviet-trained economist is viewed as the most reform-minded of the nation's ruling troika, which includes President Tran Duc Luong and Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh. Party officials have said they kept Vietnam's top posts unchanged in an effort to maintain stability. The party has been shaken in recent months by a corruption scandal in which scores of officials have been accused of receiving bribes from an underworld gang. The assembly is to vote on a broader Cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 5 in which at least seven ministers will be replaced and two new ministries created, government officials said.

Khai was appointed mayor of Ho Chi Minh City, the country's commercial center, in 1985. He became vice chairman of the Council of Ministers, a post equivalent to deputy prime minister, in 1991 and then prime minister in 1997. The Communist Party usually revamps its Cabinet after the election of a new National Assembly. The new assembly began its first session on Friday.

The body, elected in May, was once seen as a rubber stamp for party decisions. But it has gained some independence in recent years, questioning Cabinet members in occasional televised sessions and sometimes rejecting government appointments.

The Associated Press - July 25, 2002.