Democracy is the nature of our socialist regime, being the goal and driving force  for the country’s development. Therefore, in each revolutionary period, our Party has always attached great importance to the promotion of democracy in every organization and activity; particularly, mastery of the people, ensuring all power belongs to the people.

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In that spirit, the political Draft Report for the 12^th National Party Congress continues to affirm matters on nature, directions, tasks, requirements, principles, and contents, measures, mechanism, detailed statutes to promote democracy in the new situation. The Party advocates that the socialist democracy we are building is different in nature with and opposite in principles to capitalist democracy, which is manifested in the following points: First, the socialist democracy comes into being only when working class and labouring people, under the leadership of a Communist Party, have seized political power and increasingly promoted it in the building of a new society. Second, it is a democracy led by the Communist Party. Third, it is a democracy of the masses and labouring people, for the masses and labouring people. Fourth, it is a democratic regime, in which labouring people are the masters in all fields of social life, guaranteed by law. Fifth, the socialist democracy is realized by a system of organizations showing political and social power of the people, concentrated via the state. Sixth, unceasingly expanding and promoting democracy while upholding rules and laws are the principles for the developments of the socialist democracy.

The view shows that the Party’s awareness of democracy is increasingly profound and comprehensive; it is the selective acquisition and development of the quintessence of human ideological values, Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, achievements in 70 years of the Vietnamese revolution, 30 years of reform to build a socialist country, which have been flexibly applied into the country condition. Socialist democracy is a democracy in which all power is given to the people, and they are the masters. That is confirmed not only in the Constitution and legal documents, but also in fields and activities of social life. Attaching mastery of the people to the goal “a wealthy  people, a powerful country, and a democratic, equitable, civilized society”, the Party demonstrates the good nature and pre-eminence of our regime, and also affirms the importance of the socialist democracy as the goal and an impetus for the country’s development. The two sides are in a close and united relationship, supplementing each other, being both the incentive for democracy in practice and the process of building and perfecting the socialist democracy. So, to build socialism, it is absolutely necessary to build and unceasingly promote the socialist democracy. The nature of the process is to promote the Party’s leadership, the State’s management, political consciousness of political and social organizations, self-consciousness and creativeness of people from all walks of life in order to mobilize all resources for the country’s development. Thanks to sound view and guideline, building and promoting democracy in Vietnam, over the past years, have gained important achievements, producing practical results in all fields of social life, having great significance for the country’s development, international integration and cooperation. Politically, the 2013 Constitution stipulates all human rights, citizenship, forms for the people to enforce state power, and innovation of  local authority organization, all state power given to the people, which are achievements and a new advance of the democracy in Vietnam. Economically, our country has set up and gradually perfected institutions of a socialist-oriented economy with different forms of ownership and economic sectors; in which state sector plays the core role, and the others are all important parts of the national economy. The subjects of economic sectors are equal, cooperating and competing with one another under law. Socially, Vietnam completed the United Nations millennium development goals early, being seen as a model in many areas such as education, healthcare, gender equality, development attached with social justice, environment protection, industrialization, modernization, and so on.

The cause of building and protecting the Homeland in the new situation has both great opportunities and advantages, and is faced with difficulties and challenges, requiring further promotion of the socialist democracy to create an incentive for the country’s development. To achieve the objective: “a wealthy people, a powerful country, and a democratic, equitable and civilized society”, in our opinion, the Party and State should adopt the following measures:

First, to strongly promote the people’s mastery, ensuring all state power belongs to the people. This is a consistent view of the Party, clearly reflecting the nature of our democracy specified in the 2013 Constitution: “The State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a law-governed socialist State of the People, by the People, for the People”, “The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is mastered by the People; all the state power belongs to the People”.

Second, to continue effective promotion of direct and representative democracies; well implementing the Status on democracy at grass-roots level and the Ordinance on exercise of democracy in communes, wards, townships. Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide issues and important work of their country directly through laws without intermediate elements to ensure the quickness and wholeness of the people’s political will. Thus, the coming 12^th National Congress should clearly define the guideline and measure to promote direct democracy, human rights, citizenship rights and duties stipulated in the 2013 Constitution, such as the vote, representative revoking, the right of legislative initiative and democracy at grass-roots level, the right to give opinion to social and state management, and other kinds. Also, to promote the role of representatives in the National Assembly and the People’s Council at levels so that they are truly voices of the people’s will and legitimate aspirations, a bridge connecting “the will of the Party” and “the heart of the people” in the cause of building and protecting the Homeland.

Third, the expansion and promotion of democracy should be attached to the upholding of rules and laws. Exercising democracy in wrong principles or without principles and laws is contrary to the nature of the socialist democracy which could lead to unpredictable consequences. Diverging from the principles of socialism, democratization will fall into another orbit- a non-socialist democracy, in another word, the abolition of socialism.

Fourth, “to exercise democracy in society, first and foremost, we should ensure the promotion of democracy within the Party as the core for that in society”. This is an appropriate and scientific measure as the Communist Party of Vietnam is the governing party, a member and the leader of political system that exercise democracy in society.

Fifth, struggling against wrongful arguments and distortion of hostile forces. Appeals for “pluralism”, multiparty politics”, further “expanding democracy”, or views, such as “Vietnam’s violation of democracy”, “non-democracy”, maligning the Communist Party of Vietnam as the main “obstacle” for the exercise of democracy, over the past time, are plots and tricks of the hostile forces aiming at removing the Party’s leadership over society, eradicating the socialist democracy, and “driving” us a non-socialist democracy. Therefore, we should resolutely fight to unmask and thwart those plots.

Major General, Assoc Prof, PhD. Nguyen Dinh Minh

Rector of the Political Academy, Ministry of National Defence