The state news agency VNA reported that Nguyen Xuan Phuc “submitted his resignation from the positions he held, left his job and retired”.
Phuc, 69, became the first president to leave office before the end of his term, which began just two years ago, after serving five years as the wildly popular prime minister for his administration for the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam.
Such a sudden resignation is unusual in Vietnam, where the communist regime often carefully prepares for political changes, aiming to give the appearance of stability.
According to VNA, Phuk “assumed his political responsibilities as leader after several high-ranking officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, committed abuses and crimes with severe consequences”, as part of an anti-corruption campaign. It also led to the arrest of dozens of senior officials.
Bribery scandal
Newspaper Toy Tree It was determined that Fuk had submitted his resignation upon assuming responsibility for the involvement of senior officials in his government in a bribery scandal on return flights during the pandemic.
The resignation, seen by most analysts as a secret dismissal, came after days of vigorous rumors that he was leaving office, after some of his closest aides left the government and the party’s leadership bodies: former deputy prime ministers Pham Minh Binh. Phu Duc Dam.
Analyst Le Hong Hiep, of the Yusof Ishak Institute, noted in an article in the publication fulcrum That there are rumors on social networks that Phuoc’s wife is involved in this scandal, for which about 40 government officials, diplomats and businessmen have been prosecuted.
Repatriation flights in the covid pandemic
Since Vietnam closed its borders in March 2020 until it reopened two years later, only national or foreign workers recognized by the authorities as skilled workers or Vietnamese have benefited from more than 800 repatriation flights organized by the authorities.
The difficulty of obtaining a seat on these flights prevented thousands of citizens from returning to their country for months, and the emergence of corruption, such as the one that ended in the departure of the president.
After Phuc resigns, the position of president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will fall, at least temporarily, to the vice president so far, Phu Thi Anh Xuan, who must be ratified by the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc has been the President of Vietnam since 2021. Prior to that, he was the Prime Minister since 2016.
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