Vietnam elects To Lam as new president

Vietnam's National Assembly elected Public Security Minister To Lam as the country's new president on Wednesday.

In a secret ballot, 472 out of 473 deputies voted in favor of his nomination, as reported by state media.

Following his election, Lam promised to try his best "to fulfill all the tasks assigned," promising his loyalty to the nation, the state and the people.

Lam, 66, has been the public security minister since 2016 and joined the Politburo in 2021.

Anti-corruption crackdown takes down bigwigs

The recent major leadership reshuffle in the one-party state follows an anti-corruption campaign led by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that led to the ouster of the last president.

Lam takes over from Vo Van Thuong, who resigned in March after only a year in office due to what the party called "violations and shortcomings."

The anti-corruption crackdown has implicated thousands, including senior government and business leaders. It has led to the departure of three of Vietnam's top five leaders since March — the house speaker, the president, and a top Politburo member due to unspecified "wrongdoings."

Lam has been a key figure in the sweeping anti-graft campaign known as the "blazing furnace," which aims to root out widespread corruption.

However, critics argue that the campaign has been used to sideline opponents during political infighting, raising concerns about political stability.

On Monday, in another major change, Tran Thanh Man, 61, was elected the new chairman of the legislature.

In Germany the Berlin Supreme Court said Lam commissioned the 2017 kidnapping of a former Vietnamese politician and businessman from Berlin Tiergarten. After his abduction to Vietnam Trinh Xuan Thanh was given a double life sentence for corruption charges in Vietnam. 

ss/jsi (AFP, Reuters)