80 years of growing up alongside our homeland and country.

Eighty years ago, on February 24, 1946, voters in Nghe An province cast their ballots for the first time to elect the Provincial People's Council – a local state power institution representing the will, aspirations, and right to self-governance of the people. From that historical milestone to the present day, through 18 election cycles, the Nghe An Provincial People's Council has actively accompanied the revolutionary cause of the Party, leaving many profound imprints on the political, economic, and social life of the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.

Mai Hoa• January 30, 2026

The tradition of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council is closely linked to the history of the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnamese National Assembly. Following the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, and the first national general election on January 6, 1946, just over a month later, on February 24, 1946, the election of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council was held throughout the districts and towns. As a result, 39 outstanding delegates were elected by the people to the first term of the Provincial People's Council.

On March 23, 1946, the first session of the Provincial People's Council opened, marking the official birth of the local state power organ. Even in its first sessions, amidst the numerous difficulties of the fledgling government, the Provincial People's Council clearly demonstrated the pioneering role of the revolutionary government: electing the Administrative Committee and the Administrative Inspection Board; abolishing the intermediate district level, reorganizing the administrative units of communes and neighborhoods; and issuing many historically significant decisions such as abolishing unreasonable taxes, distributing public land to farmers, mobilizing the people to fight hunger and illiteracy, building a new life, and organizing resistance forces.

These decisions, formed from practical experience, not only promptly addressed immediate needs but also laid the foundation for the future working methods of elected officials: close to the people, for the people, and relying on the people. Amidst the flames of war and the years of hardship, the Provincial People's Council, together with the Party Committee, government, and people of Nghe An, built a solid rear base for the front lines, fulfilling their duty to the entire country and to neighboring Laos, contributing to the overall victory of the nation.

From 39 delegates in the first term to 83 delegates in the 18th term, from simple wartime sessions to "paperless meetings" in the digital age, the Nghe An Provincial People's Council has continuously improved its organization, expanded its functions, and enhanced the quality of its operations. Throughout each historical period, this elected body has always been a partner in the process of reform, healing the wounds of war, restoring and developing the economy and society, strengthening national defense and security, and improving the lives of the people.

Particularly during the 2021-2026 term, the activities of the Provincial People's Council continued to undergo many innovations in a substantive direction, closely reflecting real-life situations. Of the 35 sessions held, 25 were thematic sessions – a number clearly reflecting the flexibility and collaborative spirit of the elected body with the management work of state agencies and the demands of practical realities. Throughout the term, the Provincial People's Council issued 592 resolutions, including many specific mechanisms and policies that created important impetus for socio-economic development, ensured social welfare, maintained national defense and security, and ensured social order and safety in the province.

The oversight activities and accountability sessions of the Provincial People's Council, its Standing Committee, and its Committees have been implemented with a focus on key areas, creating noticeable changes after oversight. "Hot" and long-standing issues have been included in the monitoring program: stalled and delayed projects; mineral resource management and exploitation; backlogs in land use right certificate issuance; environmental protection; human resource training and utilization; public investment; land and forest allocation; shortages of housing, production land, and clean water in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; occupational safety and hygiene in industrial zones, clusters, and craft villages…

From the parliamentary level to the grassroots, many pressing practical issues have been addressed, monitored, and resolved thoroughly by the Provincial People's Council. Comrade Le Thai Hung, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Council of Nghia Hung commune, commented: “Through thematic supervision, questioning, and explanations, many long-standing obstacles have been gradually resolved, especially in the issuance of land use right certificates, ensuring food safety and hygiene, and implementing sustainable poverty reduction policies; voters are increasingly aware of the role of elected bodies in protecting their legitimate rights.”

That trust is further strengthened by the openness and transparency in parliamentary activities. Voter Nguyen Trong Thao from Do Luong commune shared: "Watching the sessions broadcast live, voters clearly see the frank and democratic spirit in questioning and debate; many issues are pursued to the end. Maintaining an online hotline during the sessions to receive and publicly disclose feedback from the people is a practical way to show respect for the people and enhance the responsibility of agencies in resolving issues."

Sharing his experience, Comrade Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council - stated that the quality of the People's Council's activities depends first and foremost on the quality of its representatives. Besides focusing on the selection process, for the 2021-2026 term, the Provincial People's Council has built a system of criteria to monitor and evaluate the activities of its representatives in a substantive way: from attending meetings, discussions, questioning, and interacting with constituents to following up on the resolution of petitions. As a result, each representative is not only present in the assembly but truly represents the voice of the people. Along with the responsibility of each representative, each member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council and the leaders of the Committees and Representative Groups of the Provincial People's Council, as well as the staff and specialists assisting the Provincial People's Council, are genuinely concerned with improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the elected body.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Nhu Khoi emphasized: Digital transformation has become an important driving force in reforming the activities of elected officials. The digitization of documents, the organization of "paperless meetings," the operation of software systems serving the Provincial People's Council and the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, and the enhancement of information and communication on the "People's Representatives of Nghe An Province" website have contributed to the transparency of activities, shortened processing times, improved service efficiency, and strengthened voter confidence.

The 14th National Congress of the Party continued to thoroughly implement the viewpoint of building a socialist rule of law state "of the people, by the people, and for the people," linked to the aspiration to make Vietnam a high-middle-income developing country by 2030. In this context, Nghe An is determined to rise to the group of relatively prosperous provinces, becoming a growth pole of the North Central region. Therefore, the need to innovate and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the state apparatus, especially elected bodies, stems not only from practical demands but also from a consistent political imperative: putting the people at the center and serving the people.

According to Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, the core of reform is ensuring that the people's right to self-governance is implemented in a substantive manner. “Every resolution must originate from life and return to serve life; every oversight must aim to resolve difficulties for state management agencies, for the people and businesses. Taking the people's satisfaction as the highest measure of the effectiveness of elected bodies is both a political requirement and an honor for the representatives.” This viewpoint not only establishes a guiding principle for action but also clearly affirms the political and ethical responsibility of elected representatives in the new development phase.

Based on that understanding, the Nghe An Provincial People's Council is meticulously preparing for the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term; considering this a crucial step that will determine the quality of the elected bodies' activities in the new term through the selection of high-quality representatives. "Representatives must be people with strong political convictions, intelligence, dedication to the people, who dare to speak, dare to act, and dare to take responsibility. Only with a team of worthy representatives can the People's Council truly be a place where the wisdom and honest voice of the people converge," emphasized Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Nghia Hieu.

Alongside the election process, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council is finalizing the "Project to Enhance the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the People's Councils at all levels in Nghe An province for the 2026-2031 term" to be implemented at the beginning of the new term. The focus of the Project is to adapt to the operation of a two-tiered local government and promote comprehensive digital transformation in elected activities. Based on this, it aims to build a mechanism for interconnection between the Provincial People's Council and the People's Councils at the commune level in supervision, voter engagement, and resolving petitions; to ensure transparency and openness in operations on a digital platform; and to establish a set of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of representatives' work, using the results of serving the people as a measure.

Inheriting an 80-year tradition of development and growth, with a strong aspiration for innovation and high political responsibility to the Party and the people, the Nghe An Provincial People's Council is embarking on a new journey with greater determination and a more far-sighted vision. The overarching goal remains: ensuring the people's right to self-governance, accompanying the province's development, and deserving to be an elected institution truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.