Joint Circular No. 01/2005/TTLT/BTTUBTWMTTQVN-BNV guides the procedures for electing, appointing, and removing the Village Head and Ward Chief.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the election, appointment, and removal of Village Chiefs and Ward People's Group Leaders

 removal of Village Chiefs, Ward People's Group Leaders

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Pursuant to the Law on Legislative Activities which has been amended and supplemented on December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the election procedures for Village Chiefs and Ward People's Group Leaders as stipulated in the Regulation on the organization and operation of villages and ward people's groups (annexed to Decision No. 13/2002/QĐ-BNV dated December 6, 2002 of the Minister of Home Affairs);

In order to implement uniformly the regulations on the procedures for the election, appointment, and removal of Village Chiefs and Ward People's Group Leaders, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee provide guidance on the following points:

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE ELECTION, APPOINTMENT, AND REMOVAL OF VILLAGE CHIEFS AND WARD PEOPLE'S GROUP LEADERS

The organization of the election for Village Chiefs and Ward People's Group Leaders (hereinafter referred to collectively as Village Chiefs); the consideration of proposals for the appointment and removal of Village Chiefs must truly be democratic, respecting and listening to the opinions of the people, ensuring the people's democratic rights, and ensuring the leadership of the grassroots Party organizations.

II. PROCEDURES FOR THE ELECTION OF VILLAGE CHIEFS

A. Preparation work

1. At least 30 days before the election date, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, town, or ward (hereinafter referred to collectively as the commune level) issues a decision announcing the election date for Village Chiefs and establishing the Election Board.

2. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level shall take the lead and coordinate with the Chairman of the People's Council of the United Front Organization at the same level to develop an election plan, provide procedural guidance, and assist in organizing the election meeting.

3. The Chairman of the United Front Organization at the commune level shall take the lead and coordinate with the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level to organize a meeting to implement the election plan.

- Meeting participants:

Village Chief (or Acting Village Chief), Secretary of the Village Party Branch, Head of the Mass Organization Work Team, Secretary of the Youth League Branch, Chairperson of the Women's Association Branch, Chairperson of the Farmers' Association Branch, Chairperson of the Veterans' Association Branch, Chairperson of the Senior Citizens' Association Branch, and some members of the aforementioned associations if necessary.

- Meeting contents:

+ Representatives of the People's Committee at the commune level announce the decision of the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level regarding the election date and the establishment of the Election Board.

+ Representatives of the People's Committee at the commune level disseminate the election plan, the duties of the Election Board, and the responsibilities of the Village Chief, as well as conditions to ensure the smooth conduct of the election.

+ Representatives of the Standing Committee of the United Front Organization at the commune level disseminate the process of nominating candidates for Village Chief, the voting procedure, vote counting, announcement of results, reporting of election results, and propaganda and mobilization activities to encourage voter participation.

+ The meeting discusses and implements the election procedures.

+ Conclusion of the meeting by representatives of the United Front Organization at the commune level.

B. Nomination Procedures

Step one: Propose a list of candidates.

1. Based on the qualifications for Village Chief (as stipulated in Article 11 of the Regulation on the organization and operation of villages and ward people's groups), the Head of the Mass Organization Work Team reports to the Village Party Branch about the proposed nomination of candidates for Village Chief and the plan for the election of Village Chief.

2. The Mass Organization Work Team convenes to propose the nomination of candidates.

a. Meeting Participants

The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team convenes and chairs the meeting, including all members of the Mass Organization Work Team.

b. Content, procedures, and sequence

- Introduce the purpose and requirements of the meeting and read the decision of the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level regarding the election date and the establishment of the Election Board.

- Introduce the qualifications for Village Chief (as stipulated in Article 11 of the Regulation on the organization and operation of villages and ward people's groups).

- The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team proposes the list of candidates (which may include from one to two persons).

- The meeting discusses and comments on the proposed candidates.

- The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team concludes the meeting's comments on the proposed candidates.

- The meeting records the minutes detailing the number of attendees called, the number present, the meeting content, and the meeting's comments on the proposed candidates (according to Model Number 1).

Step two: Organize a meeting of voters to discuss the qualifications and list of candidates.

1. Meeting Participants

- All voters or representative voters from households;

- All members of the Mass Organization Work Team;

- Village Chief, Deputy Village Chief; Ward People's Group Leader, Deputy Ward People's Group Leader.

The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team chairs and coordinates with the Village Chief to invite voters to meet. In villages or wards with up to 100 households, a full meeting of voters or representative voters from households should be held. The meeting can only proceed when more than half of the invited voters attend. In places with over 100 households, it is not necessary to hold a full meeting but rather organize a meeting of representative voters from family clusters or self-managed groups or production teams; however, at least 50% of household representatives must be invited to attend the meeting. The meeting can only proceed when more than half of the invited voters attend.

The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team sends invitations to the above-mentioned participants and invites representatives of the Standing Committee of the United Front Organization at the commune level.

The Village Chief, Secretary of the Village Party Branch, and Head of the Mass Organization Work Team chair the voter meeting.

2. Content, procedures, and sequence

a. The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team states the reasons for the meeting and introduces the meeting delegates.

b. The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team introduces the secretary of the meeting and must obtain the approval of the majority of attending voters through a show of hands.

c. The Village Chief announces the decision of the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level regarding the election date and the establishment of the Election Board.

d. The Village Chief reports on the work of the previous term and conducts self-criticism before the voter meeting.

e. The Head of the Mass Organization Work Team reads out the qualifications for Village Chief and introduces the list of proposed candidates for Village Chief from the Mass Organization Work Team.

h. The meeting discusses the list of candidates proposed by the Mass Organization Work Team. Voters may nominate candidates or run for office themselves.

i. The meeting discusses and decides on the composition of the voters who will elect the Village Chief (all voters or representative voters from households).

k. Approve the minutes of the voter meeting (according to Model Number 2).

l. The Village Chief concludes the meeting so that the Mass Organization Work Team can convene to finalize the list of candidates.

Step three: Organize a meeting of the Mass Organization Work Team to finalize the official list of candidates.

1. Meeting Participants:

The Head of the Mass Organization Committee convenes and chairs the Meeting, which includes representatives from the grassroots Party organization, Youth League Branch, Women's Association Branch, Farmers' Association Branch, Veterans' Association Branch, and Senior Citizens' Association Branch.

2. Content, procedures, and sequence.

- The Head of the Mass Organization Committee states the purpose of the Meeting and introduces the delegates; thereafter, reads out the list of individuals nominated by the Mass Organization Committee and voters, including self-nominated candidates (if any).

- The Meeting bases on the criteria for Village Chief to discuss and determine the official list of candidates for Village Chief. There must be at least two candidates for voters to choose from.

- The Meeting records the minutes detailing the composition of the Meeting, the total number of people convened, the number present, the content of the Meeting, the proceedings, and the final agreement of the Meeting to establish the official list of candidates for Village Chief (according to Model No. 3). The list of candidates for Village Chief shall be publicly posted seven days before the election date (according to Model No. 4).

C. Election Work

Based on the Decision of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the Commune establishing the election team and determining the tasks of the election team, the Team Leader directs the election work according to the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 - Article 13 of the Regulation on the Organization and Operation of Villages and Neighborhoods (issued together with Decision No. 13/2002/QĐ-BNV dated December 6, 2002 of the Minister of Home Affairs).

1. Voter Composition and Voting Method:

The voter composition for electing the Village Chief consists of all voters or representative voters decided by the voter meeting as stipulated at point i, step two, Section B, Part II of this Circular.

The voting can be conducted through raising hands or secret ballot. If the village, hamlet, or neighborhood has 100 households or fewer, the method of voting can be decided by the meeting as either raising hands or secret ballot; if more than 100 households, it must be conducted through secret ballot.

2. Sequence of Voting:

2.1. If voting is conducted by raising hands, the meeting selects three people to directly count the votes.

2.2. If voting is conducted by secret ballot, the meeting selects a vote-counting committee consisting of three to five people introduced by the Team Leader from among those not running for Village Chief.

a. The election team prepares ballot boxes and ballots stamped by the People's Committee for the United Front. On the ballots, the full names of the candidates are clearly marked. During the voting, each voter may only select one candidate from the list (without crossing out the name of the chosen candidate) and may cross out the names of those they do not trust. In areas where printing ballots is not feasible, voters who trust someone in the officially determined list of candidates for Village Chief should write down their full names on the blank ballots already stamped by the People's Committee for the United Front at the commune level.

b. The vote-counting committee conducts the counting immediately after the end of the voting at the polling place.

Before the vote-counting committee opens the ballot box, the election team must tally and record the unused ballots in a sealed document, inviting two voters who are not candidates to witness the counting process. The election team has the right to observe the counting process.

The following ballots are invalid:

- Ballots that are not issued by the election team.

- Ballots without the stamp of the People's Committee for the United Front at the commune level.

- Ballots listing two or more candidates.

- Ballots with all candidate names crossed out.

- Ballots listing names outside the candidate list or with additional writing.

c. After completing the count, the vote-counting committee hands over the vote-counting minutes (according to Model No. 5) and ballots to the Team Leader. The vote-counting minutes must detail:

- The total number of voters in the village according to the full voter list or representative voter list.

- The number of voters participating in the voting.

- The number of ballots distributed.

- The number of ballots collected.

- The number of valid ballots.

- The number of invalid ballots.

- The number of votes received by each candidate.

The elected Village Chief is the person receiving more than half of the valid votes and the most votes.

The election results are valid only when at least half of the voters on the list participate in the voting.

The vote-counting minutes are made in three copies, signed by members of the vote-counting committee and two witnesses to the counting process, to be sent to the Chairman of the People's Committee, the Chairman of the People's Committee for the United Front at the commune level, and the Team Leader retains one copy.

d. Approving the vote-counting minutes.

In cases where the number of voters participating in the voting does not reach half of the voters listed or violates the election regulations, a re-election must be organized. The date of the re-election is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, but no later than 15 days from the first election date. If the second election still fails to elect a Village Chief, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune will appoint an interim Village Chief from among the officially nominated candidates until a new Village Chief is elected.

D. Recognizing the Election Results

Based on the vote-counting minutes and the report on the election results of the Village Chief submitted by the election team, within no more than five working days, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune issues a decision recognizing the elected Village Chief or deciding to hold another election. The officially recognized Village Chief begins operations upon receipt of the recognition decision from the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune.

III. PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING

REMOVAL AND REMOVAL OF VILLAGE CHIEF

1. Procedure for Removing the Village Chief

1.1. Cases for Removing the Village Chief:

The Village Chief may be relieved of duty due to health reasons, family circumstances, or other reasons.

1.2. Procedures and Sequence for Removal

a. The person requesting removal must submit a letter stating the reasons for requesting the relief of duty as Village Chief to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune and the Head of the Mass Organization Committee of the village. In cases where the Village Chief is reassigned to other work, there is no need for a request for removal.

b. The removal of the Village Chief is carried out in one of the following two forms:

- Organizing a voter meeting in the village or neighborhood to vote for removal. The procedures and methods for removal are applied similarly to the procedure for removing the Village Chief as stipulated in points d, e, f, h, subpoint 2.2, Section 2, Part III of this Circular.

||| The People's Committee Working Group convenes to examine and unify the decision on relieving the Village Head of their position and prepares a proposal for relieving them from duty along with the minutes of the People's Committee Working Group meeting to be sent to the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee.

||| c. Within no more than five days from the date of receipt of the aforementioned documents, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee must review and issue a decision to relieve the Village Head of their position.

||| The election of a new Village Head must be conducted within thirty days from the date the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee issues a decision to relieve the Village Head of their position.

||| 2. Procedure for Removing the Village Head:

||| 2.1. Cases of Removal

||| The Village Head may be removed if they are no longer trusted by the people, fail to fulfill their duties, violate the people's right to self-governance, engage in corruption, waste public funds, disobey the directives and management of the Commune People's Committee, or violate laws and regulations set forth by higher authorities, upon the initiative of the People's Committee Working Group based on the villagers' proposal.

||| 2.2. Procedures and Steps for Removal.

||| a. A self-criticism report by the Village Head detailing their shortcomings, both subjective and objective reasons, and self-imposed disciplinary measures, to be submitted to the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee and the Head of the People's Committee Working Group.

||| b. The People's Committee Working Group convenes to vote on the trustworthiness of the Village Head following the guidelines of the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (Notice No. 06 dated January 25, 2005).

||| c. If the trust vote falls below fifty percent, the People's Committee Working Group prepares a document proposing the organization of a village assembly to consider removing the Village Head from office, accompanied by the Minutes of the Trust Vote on the Village Head, to be sent to the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee and the Chairman of the Commune Fatherland Front Committee.

||| d. The Chairman of the Commune People's Committee bases on the proposal of the People's Committee Working Group to organize a secret ballot day for removing the Village Head from office and establishes a Removal Committee headed by the Head of the People's Committee Working Group, with members being representatives of the Party organization and some mass organizations such as Youth, Women, Farmers, Veterans, and Elderly of the village. The tasks of the Removal Committee apply those of the Village Head Election Committee. The composition of voters for removal applies that of voters for electing the Village Head.

||| đ. The removal process must be conducted through a secret ballot, with each ballot clearly indicating the name of the Village Head and stamped by the Commune Fatherland Front Committee. Voters who agree to remove the Village Head from office will draw a line through the name of that person. If they disagree with the removal, the ballot remains unchanged.

||| e. The establishment of the Counting Board, voting procedures, counting procedures, and the legal value of the removal ballots shall be implemented according to the provisions at Section C, Part II - Election Work in this Circular.

||| g. Within no more than five days from the date of receipt of the Minutes of the Counting Board and the report on the results of the removal ballot of the Village Head by the Head of the People's Committee Working Group, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee must review and issue a decision recognizing the results of the removal ballot of the Village Head.

||| The election of a new Village Head must be conducted within thirty days from the date the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee issues a decision recognizing the results of the removal.

IV. EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

||| 2. During implementation, if there are difficulties requiring explanation or additional guidance, the People's Committees and the Fatherland Front Committees at the provincial level shall reflect these issues to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front for resolution.

||| 3. All levels of People's Committees, Departments of Home Affairs, the Central Steering Committees of the Fatherland Front at all levels in localities, and the People's Committee Working Groups have the responsibility to implement this Circular.