The people have the right to choose.
After three months of gathering public opinions on amending the 1992 Constitution, on April 12, 2013, the Drafting Committee submitted the draft of the new Constitution to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. This draft included many important provisions presented in two options. For example, the issue of the country's name, the issue of the Party's responsibility for its leadership, and the issue of the armed forces' loyalty to whom… In general, the Drafting Committee maintained an objective attitude, not emphasizing one option over the other. The choice of which option is best to include in the amended Constitution rests with the people and their representatives, the National Assembly.
(Baonghean)After three months of gathering public opinions on amending the 1992 Constitution, on April 12, 2013, the Drafting Committee submitted the draft of the new Constitution to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. This draft included many important provisions presented in two options. For example, the issue of the country's name, the issue of the Party's responsibility for its leadership, and the issue of the armed forces' loyalty to whom… In general, the Drafting Committee maintained an objective attitude, not emphasizing one option over the other. The choice of which option is best to include in the amended Constitution rests with the people and their representatives, the National Assembly.
Specifically, regarding the country's name, the drafting committee proposed two options. First, to name our country "Democratic Republic of Vietnam." Second, to name our country "Socialist Republic of Vietnam." "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" is the current name of the country, so there's nothing more to say. However, the name "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" warrants some explanation. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was the country's original name, a republican government united by the entire nation, established as a result of the arduous struggle and sacrifices of the entire people during the August Revolution.
The name "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" was solemnly proclaimed by President Ho Chi Minh to the people of the whole country and the world through the Declaration of Independence read on September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi. The name "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" was affirmed in the 1946 and 1959 Constitutions, reflecting our country's political system as a Republic, national unity, and the democratic nature of our State. If we were to name the country according to this option, the new Constitution would be written as: "Vietnam is a democratic republic, independent, sovereign, unified and with territorial integrity, encompassing the mainland, islands, sea and airspace. The country's name is called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam."
In other sections, the Drafting Committee also presented two similar options. Let's follow the results recorded in the new Constitutional text submitted by the Drafting Committee to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly below:
Regarding the leadership and accountability of the Party.
The drafting committee's new proposal is to remove the phrase "The vanguard of the working class, and also the vanguard of the working people," replacing it with simply "The Communist Party of Vietnam is the leading force of the State and Society." It also proposes removing the phrase "responsible to the people" from the sentence "The Party is responsible to the people for its decisions," shortening it to: "The Party is responsible for its leadership."
Regarding the loyalty of the armed forces.
Option 1: Maintain the current Constitution, without stipulating that "the armed forces must be absolutely loyal to the Party".
Option 2: While the draft Constitution stipulates that the armed forces must be loyal to the Communist Party, the original wording is reversed and rewritten in the new Constitution as: "The People's Armed Forces must be absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the people, and the Communist Party of Vietnam."
The fact that the Drafting Committee submitted two parallel options to the National Assembly is to give the National Assembly and the entire population a wider range of choices, additions, and further contributions to amending the Constitution in the future. At the same time, proposing two parallel options also demonstrates a democratic spirit, a truly open-minded attitude, and respect for the opinions of the people who have contributed to the constitutional amendment process over the past three months.
In general, compared to the previous draft, the new Constitution submitted by the Drafting Committee to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly this time has many new points and amendments that can be said to be very bold and faithful to the opinions contributed by the people. Now, with 6 months remaining for further comments and revisions to the 1992 Constitution Draft, in the spirit of genuine openness of the Drafting Committee and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, it is hoped that the people will contribute more valuable opinions, boldly proposing the most pressing and fundamental issues to make the new Constitution better, more complete, and accurately reflect the heartfelt aspirations of the people.
Thach Quy