From left to right: Politburo member, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân; Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng; and Politburo member, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc at Monday's preparatory meeting of the ongoing 13th National Party Congress in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) has “discussed at length” about exemption cases, especially regarding age limit, among the incoming candidates for the country’s leadership in the ongoing 13th National Party Congress, an official has said.

Hầu A Lềnh, CPV’s Central Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, told the media on the sidelines of the Congress Wednesday that all personnel to be considered meet necessary criteria such as health, capacity, or reputation.

“The country’s practical demands necessitate the continued involvement of certain comrades, who will bring their experience and reputation to the table, so the Party Central Committee has come to a consensus [on the list of personnel] to nominate at the Congress,” Lềnh said, adding that if the Congress place their trust in the picks and vote for them, “we will have leaders who are experienced and have made numerous contributions to the country.”

One of the new items in the personnel matters in the 13th Congress is the five-step vetting process that is applicable to both incumbent Party Central Committee members who are nominated to the next tenure, and first-timers alike, which helped to “select qualified comrades, with desirable moral and lifestyle values, professional capacity, strengths, and growth potential,” Lềnh said.

He stressed that personnel matters had been “meticulously and prudently” completed step by step.

Asked about the vetting process for the exemption cases for the key positions, Lềnh said ‘special case’ candidates nominated to the CPV Politburo, Party Central Committee and Secretariat were on the other hand subjected to a more rigorous ‘two rounds, eight steps’ vetting process.

He said qualifications of the candidates were the deciding factor, and standards/criteria would not be lowered just to ensure certain needs for the quota.

Asked about the window for possible complaints from delegates about personnel items, Lềnh said petitions and complaints regarding candidates to the Party Central Committee were allowed but should be filed 15 days before the Congress takes place, as per regulations.

However, petitions and complaints could still be submitted during the Congress but considerations and decisions would be done after the Congress ends.

In the opening session on Tuesday, the delegate eligibility verification panel reported to the Congress, saying that all official delegates were eligible to be elected or to elect others, which meant all issues concerning complaints and petitions had been handled, Lềnh said.

Hầu A Lềnh, Party Central Committee member and Vice President of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, talks to the press on the sidelines of the 13th Party Congress in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

According to the agenda, the Congress will start deliberating and discussing personnel matters Thursday afternoon.

The profiles and documents on each one of the candidates will be sent to participating delegations to discuss and make decisions.

After three days reserved for consideration, voting on the 13th-tenure Party Central Committee will begin on Sunday morning (January 31) and the results will be announced in the afternoon, Lềnh said.

The following day, February 1, the newly elected Party Central Committee will hold the first Plenum to elect positions to the Politburo, Secretariat and other top jobs of the Party. — VNS