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On the afternoon of May 12, at the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front for the 2026–2031 term, speakers highlighted the role of advisory councils in social oversight and critique, contributing to the realization of strategic breakthroughs guided by the Party.
In a keynote on strengthening social oversight and critique by advisory councils in implementing the strategic breakthroughs, Mr. Tran Ngoc Duong, a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and head of the Advisory Council on Democracy and Law, said advisory councils bring together people with intellect, experience, political resolve, and professional knowledge across many fields. He noted that most members are retired but remain healthy, enthusiastic, and devoted.
He added that, in the recent term, the advisory councils of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front have increasingly affirmed their role in participating in social oversight and critique—functions defined by the 2013 Constitution and Party documents.
For nearly two years, as Vietnam implemented the policy of building a lean, strong, efficient, and effective political system, advisory councils reviewed, critiqued, and refined many important draft documents of the Party and State, including draft amendments to the Constitution. Relevant agencies accepted these inputs.
Speakers said social oversight activities on the implementation of policies and laws—conducted by the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front with the participation of advisory council members—have helped enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of oversight.
They also described social oversight and critique by advisory councils as a key method of promoting democracy and strengthening social consensus.
Entering a new phase, documents of the Party’s 14th National Congress define continuing to build and improve institutions, develop a high-quality human resources base, and create a synchronized, modern infrastructure as strategic breakthroughs. In this context, strengthening social oversight and critique as a people-centered check on power was described as an essential requirement.
To improve the quality and effectiveness of advisory councils’ work, discussions proposed that the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front:
They also proposed that studies explore organizational reforms to increase initiative; strengthen the role in social oversight of Party organizations and state agencies; improve coordination with oversight and examination activities of the Committee and the National Assembly’s Ethnic Council; and push forward digital transformation and information technology applications to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of social oversight and critique.
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