Who runs local government in Vietnam?

Vietnam is led by the Communist Party, and every level of local government has an elected People's Council and an executive People's Committee working under Party leadership. In 2025 the country carried out its biggest local reform in decades: from 1 July 2025 the district level was abolished, leaving just provinces and communes, and the number of provinces was cut from 63 to 34. The Vietnam Fatherland Front, which now formally includes the main mass organisations, vets election candidates and supervises officials.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam · Unitary one-party socialist republic · South-eastern Asia

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Provinces and centrally run cities (34 since 1 July 2025; previously 63)	People's Council elected for five years; it elects the People's Committee and its chair	Main level for planning, budgets and services.
Commune level: communes (xã), wards (phường) and island special zones	People's Council elected; People's Committee elected by the council	Since 2025 the direct level of government below the province, handling services and administration that districts used to do.
Hamlets and villages (thôn, bản) and urban residential groups (tổ dân phố)	Heads elected at meetings of household representatives and recognised by the commune	Self-managing community units, not a level of government; organise local activities and pass on information.

Three questions about local power in Vietnam

Are local leaders elected?

People's Council members at province and commune level are elected by voters every five years from candidates approved through the Fatherland Front process. People's Committees are elected by the councils. Hamlet heads are chosen by households.

Which laws set up local government?

Local government is in Chapter IX of the Constitution (amended by Resolution 203/2025/QH15) and the Law on Organisation of Local Government. Village conventions are formal once approved. Elders' authority among minorities is informal.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

People's Committees answer to their council and to the committee above, and ultimately to the Prime Minister. Party committees at each level decide key appointments. The Fatherland Front and the National Assembly supervise, and voters can in law recall councillors.

Traditional and customary authority

Village customs (hương ước, village conventions) are still written down and approved by local authorities as community rules on things like weddings, funerals and hygiene. Among ethnic minorities in the highlands, village elders (già làng) are respected and often consulted by officials. Buddhist, Catholic and other religious bodies must register with the state, and the Fatherland Front's committees include religious representatives.

Community and neighbourhood power

The Vietnam Fatherland Front is described in the Constitution as a political alliance under Party leadership. Since the 2025 constitutional amendment, the Trade Union, Farmers' Association, Youth Union, Women's Union and Veterans' Association operate within it. Front committees exist down to commune level, organise the 'consultation conferences' that approve candidates for elections, and supervise local officials, while Front work groups and mass organisation branches operate in hamlets and residential groups.

Points to know

In the 15 March 2026 elections, 2,552 provincial and 72,437 commune People's Council members were elected, with official turnout reported at 99.7%.
The 2025 amendment says administrative units are organised into two tiers: provinces and the units below them.
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other centrally run cities are province-level units.
The PAPI index, run since 2009 with UNDP, surveys citizens about governance in every province.

Local terms

People's Council: Elected local assembly at province and commune level.
People's Committee: Executive body elected by the People's Council.
Fatherland Front: Party-led alliance of mass organisations that vets candidates and supervises officials.
Hương ước: A written village convention of local rules, approved by the authorities.

Sources

Constitution of Viet Nam 1992 (rev. 2013) (English text), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Country profile: Viet Nam, OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
Resolution 203/2025/QH15 amending the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (English translation), LuatVietnam legal database, checked 14 October 2026
General election's voter turnout highest ever recorded: NEC (21 March 2026), Viet Nam Government Portal (baochinhphu.vn), checked 14 October 2026