Vietnam unanimously elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as president for a five-year term, consolidating his control over both the party and the state.
The move departs from Vietnam’s tradition of shared leadership, in which the jobs have typically been held by different people, and echoes power structures in China under Xi Jinping and neighboring Laos.
It has been widely expected since Lam’s reelection as Communist Party head in January, when observers noted that his consolidation of party authority positioned him to assume the presidency as well.
It’s the National Assembly that elected him. It’s like a Parliament, but there are no Executive or Judicial branches that are independent from it.
The Assembly seats 500. A unanimous vote still shows that people are afraid to cross the leader. Like Republicans with Trump, only there are no Democrats. There are a handful of “Independents,” with the vast, vast majority being Vietnamese Communist Party members.