A view of a National Assembly meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam has recently issued Conclusion No. 127, outlining plans to streamline the country’s political structure.

A key proposal. Eliminating district-level government. But this bold move would require amending the nation’s constitution, a complex process with a tight deadline of June 30, 2025.

Here’s what’s happening, how it might work and what it could mean for Việt Nam’s administrative system.

Why scrap districts?

Việt Nam operates a four-tier government system: central, provincial, district, and commune. The Politburo wants to slim this down to three tiers, so central, provincial, and commune, to make the process of governing more efficient.

As of March 2025, the country has 696 district-level administrative units and 10,035 commune-level units, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The plan is to abolish all 696 districts and reorganise the communes, reducing their number to just over 2,000 of the larger units.

"After streamlining, about one-third of the districts’ former responsibilities will move up to the provinces, while two-thirds will shift down to the communes," Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Hòa Bình explained on March 13.

This redistribution aims to improve efficiency and rebalance workloads, but it’s a major overhaul that’s raising big questions.

What do current constitutional provisions say?

There’s a catch: the constitution, under Article 110, explicitly defines the country’s administrative divisions.

It states that provinces are divided into districts, towns and provincial cities. To abolish districts, the constitution must be amended first.

The Politburo has tasked relevant agencies with studying changes to constitutional provisions on political structure, with a deadline of June 30, 2025, for completion.

How will Việt Nam’s constitution be amended?

Amending the constitution is not simple. Here’s the process in brief:

Proposal: A change can be suggested by the President, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee, the Government, or at least one-third of the National Assembly’s delegates.

Approval to Proceed: At least two-thirds of the National Assembly’s total delegates must vote in favour of amending the constitution.

Drafting: The National Assembly sets up a Constitutional Drafting Committee, with its size, members, and powers decided based on recommendations from the Standing Committee.

Public Input: The committee drafts the amendments, gathers public opinion, and submits the proposal back to the National Assembly.

Final Vote: The amendments pass if at least two-thirds of delegates approve. The National Assembly also decides whether to hold a referendum and sets the timeline for announcement and enforcement.

With less than four months until the June deadline, the clock is ticking.

What can Việt Nam learn from three-tier governments around the world?

Việt Nam would not be the first country to adopt a three-tier system. Here are a few examples of how it works elsewhere:

Japan: Japan operates with a central government, 47 prefectures (similar to provinces), and municipalities (cities, towns, and villages). Prefectures delegate significant authority to municipalities, which handle local services like education and waste management.

Denmark: Denmark streamlined its system in 2007, reducing it from a four-tier to a three-tier structure, so central government, five regions, and 98 municipalities. Counties were abolished, with regions focusing on healthcare and municipalities taking on social services and local planning.

With the constitutional deadline looming, Việt Nam faces a tight schedule to debate, draft and approve these changes. The coming months will be a critical test of the country’s political agility. — VNS