The Hoàn Kiếm Lake in the centre of Hà Nội capital city. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI — At 8am on Monday, provinces and cities across Việt Nam simultaneously held ceremonies to announce decisions on the merger and reorganisation of administrative units, as part of a nationwide effort to streamline governance structures.

Each locality organised live televised broadcasts to ensure broad public access and participation in the historic announcement.

In the 11 provinces and cities not subject to administrative mergers, local authorities—including the Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee—convened ceremonies to formally announce the Resolution of the National Assembly (NA) and the Standing Committee of the NA. These resolutions pertain to the dissolution of certain district-level units and the rearrangement of commune-level administrative units, in line with the national restructuring initiative.

As part of the nationwide administrative restructuring initiative, authorities also announced decisions to establish new commune-level Party Committees and appointed leadership and personnel for each newly formed unit.

In the 23 provinces and cities undergoing administrative mergers, local Party Committees, People’s Councils, People’s Committees, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees held official ceremonies to announce the resolutions and decisions of both central and local governments regarding the merger of provincial- and commune-level administrative units and the dissolution of district-level units.

In accordance with Instruction No 31-HD/BTCTW, issued by the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission on April 23, the Politburo and the Secretariat have made official appointments of provincial and municipal Party secretaries to lead the reorganised administrative structures.

Following the merger of provincial administrative units, the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission will review the proposed restructuring plans from the newly formed provincial and municipal Party Committees, provide consultation, and submit recommendations to the Politburo and the Secretariat for final decisions.

The Organisation Commission will oversee the appointment of executive committees, standing committees, secretaries, deputy secretaries, as well as inspection committees and their chairpersons and deputy chairpersons for the 2020–2025 term. All appointments are expected to be completed no later than September 15, 2025.

In terms of State governance, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly will appoint the chairpersons of local People’s Councils, while the Prime Minister will appoint the chairpersons of local People’s Committees.

On June 12, 2025, NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn signed and issued Resolution No 202/2025/QH15 on the restructuring of provincial-level administrative units. Under the Resolution, Việt Nam officially consists of 34 provinces and centrally-run cities, comprising 28 provinces and 6 centrally-administered cities.

The Resolution directs relevant authorities to urgently complete preparations to ensure that newly formed local governments in reorganised provinces and cities are ready to officially begin operations on July 1.

Until the new local authorities are fully operational, the existing authorities in previously arranged provinces and cities will continue to function, ensuring uninterrupted governance and public services. — VNS