The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee began on Monday the 12th plenum with a focus on cadre preparation for the next five-year term, which is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2021.

The 12th plenum of the CPV's Central Committee opens on May 11. Photo: VGP

The four-day meeting will discuss the criteria for electing delegates to the next Party National Congress for the term 2021-2026.

The Central Committee is the CPV’s highest authority, currently having 176 official members and 26 alternate members.

Chairing the opening meeting, General Secretary of the CPV and State President Nguyen Phu Trong said in his remarks that the process of constituting the next committee needs “strong determination to fight individualism and interest groups,” according to VnExpress.

Party chief and State President Nguyen Phu Trong (central) and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the event on May 11. Photo: VGP

The next five-year Central Committee “needs to have a reasonable ratio of members who are young, female, ethnic people, scientists, artists, and managers of major state-owned corporations,” he said.

At the quinquennial National Congress slated for January 2021, new members of the Central Committee will be elected.

The plenum will also discuss the affairs related to the formation of the National Assembly in the 2021-2026 term.

The National Assembly is expected to have less than 500 members, of whom at least 35% will be women and 18% ethnic minority groups.

In February 2020, Trong issued new criteria for appointing top officials which it set the premise for evaluating, planning, assigning, transferring, and introducing candidates ahead of the 13th National Congress.

Last month, in an article about the personnel preparation for the 13th National Congress, the General Secretary put stress on the importance of selecting morally and professionally qualified candidates.

He said “Unqualified officials, if chosen to the leadership, would be a disaster for the Party and do harm to the country and people.”