Vietnamese Officials Face Resignation Calls Over Family Misconduct

Vietnam's government has issued a new decree (Decree 259) effective July 1, mandating that public officials in management positions must voluntarily resign or face consideration for dismissal if their immediate family members, including spouses and children, violate laws or fall into social vices. This regulation aims to enhance the ethics and credibility of civil servants. Under the new rules, managing officials will be subject to resignation or dismissal if their departments or areas of management fail to meet targets and plans, or if important decisions, regulations, or projects they advised on are deemed ineffective or pose a risk of negative consequences, barring force majeure events. Officials who fail to promptly address complaints and denunciations within their authority, causing public discontent and negatively impacting their agencies, will also be considered for dismissal. Similarly, leaders who demonstrate a lack of responsibility and fail to address serious violations by their direct subordinates of Party regulations and state laws will face this consequence. Furthermore, managing officials may be encouraged to resign or be considered for dismissal if they perceive limitations in their leadership or management capabilities, lose credibility, receive over 50% low confidence votes in evaluations, have valid personal reasons, or if their leadership results in serious corruption, waste, or misconduct within their purview, even if not reaching the level of disciplinary action. Civil servants who fail to complete their tasks for two consecutive years, violate political integrity, ethics, or lifestyle standards, allow others to exploit their position or authority for personal gain resulting in serious consequences (unless they were unaware), or exhibit a lack of courage, avoidance of responsibility, and failure to perform their duties leading to very serious outcomes, will also be subject to voluntary resignation or dismissal considerations. Specifically, managing officials will face these measures if their spouses or children are found to have violated laws or engaged in social vices, leading to public outcry and negatively impacting their reputation and that of their agency. For officials receiving over 50% low confidence votes, dismissal will be considered even if they do not submit a resignation. However, those in roles related to national defense, security, or critical confidential missions, whose resignation would severely impact their duties, or who are under investigation, will not be considered for resignation or dismissal during that period. Officials in management roles can also be considered for removal if they receive a warning and are assessed as having limited capacity or diminished credibility, making them unable to continue in their position. This also applies if they have been reprimanded twice or more within their appointment term, receive two-thirds low confidence votes, fail to complete tasks for two consecutive years, show ideological and political degradation, moral decay, lifestyle issues, undergo self-evolution or self-transformation, violate Party member prohibitions, fail to uphold exemplary responsibilities, or violate political standards to a degree requiring removal. Additionally, leaders whose departments or direct subordinates cause very serious corruption, waste, or misconduct, or significant internal conflicts and disunity, will also be subject to removal consideration. These provisions take effect from July 1, 2024.