Vietnam president reconfirmed for new five-year term

Jul 24, 2007, 15:49 GMT

Hanoi- Vietnam's legislature confirmed President Nguyen Minh Triet to a new five-year term Tuesday in preparation for planned cabinet reshuffle in the communist-ruled country, state media reported.

Triet, 64, won 99.38 per cent of 490 votes in the Communist Party-dominated National Assembly, Nhan Dan Online newspaper said.

His first act was to re-nominate Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for a new five-year term and to nominate new candidates to replace the outgoing vice president, head of the People's Supreme Court and head of the Supreme Procuracy.

Triet was first named as president last year after he was elected to the Communist Party Politburo two months earlier. His first year in office was serving out the final year of retiring president Tran Duc Luong's five-year term.

The 12th National Assembly, which was elected in one-party nationwide polls in May, is expected to confirm Dung and the new officials in a vote Wednesday.

Later in the session, the parliament is to also consider a proposal to streamline the cabinet, cutting the number of ministries from 29 to 22 but adding more deputy prime ministers and promoting younger officials.

Once seen as a purely rubber-stamp body, the National Assembly in recent years has taken tentative steps toward becoming a forum for debate and criticism of government officials.

However, the parliament rarely contradicts the Communist Party on major issues.