Vietnam’s lawmakers unanimously elected Communist Party Secretary General To Lam as the country’s state president for the next five years, a parliament official said after the vote on Tuesday.
The widely anticipated move marks a break from Vietnam’s traditional collective leadership system, consolidating authority in one figure in ways analysts say could tilt the one‑party state toward greater authoritarianism, while also enabling faster decision‑making, similar to its neighbour China.
Lam was elected by lawmakers in the National Assembly. The parliament endorsed the Communist Party’s nomination, which officials said was finalized in a meeting at the end of March.
The former head of public security now has a double mandate to rule the country for the next five years, after he secured a second term as general secretary in January.
“Concentrating greater power in To Lam’s hands could pose risks to Vietnam’s political system, such as increased authoritarianism,” said Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
