Encourage naming new communes after old districts with serial numbers attached

Proposing 6 criteria for arrangement at provincial and commune levels

Implementing the Politburo's conclusions on "merging some provincial-level units, not organizing at the district level, merging some commune-level units", the draft Resolution stipulates the criteria for arranging provincial-level and commune-level units in the direction of closely following the 6 criteria that have been considered and agreed upon by the Politburo.

Including natural area; population size; criteria on history, tradition, culture, religion, ethnicity; criteria on geo-economics (including criteria on geographical location, scale and level of economic development); criteria on geopolitics; criteria on national defense and security.

In which the criteria of natural area and population size are determined according to Resolution 1211/2016 of the National Assembly Standing Committee (amended and supplemented in 2022).

The draft also notes that arrangements should not be made for administrative units that are isolated and difficult to organize convenient traffic connections, or administrative units that are in particularly important locations, affecting national defense, security, and the protection of national sovereignty.

Based on the guiding views in the project, the draft Resolution stipulates the principles of arrangement, including some new contents.

Specifically, in the case of a province merging with a province, after the merger it will be called a province. In the case of a province merging with a centrally-governed city, the unit after the merger will be a centrally-governed city.

In case of arranging wards with administrative units of the same level, the next unit to be arranged is the ward. In case of arranging communes and towns with each other, the next unit to be arranged is the commune.

In case of implementing the arrangement of commune-level units that changes the boundaries of district-level units, it is not necessary to consider the conditions and standards and it is not necessary to follow the process and procedures for adjusting the boundaries of the district-level units to which the commune-level units belong.

To facilitate the process of arranging administrative units in accordance with local practical conditions, the draft stipulates that in the case of merging 4 or more commune-level units, the new unit after the arrangement does not need to meet the standards on area and population.

At the same time, it is stipulated that the total number of communes and wards after the rearrangement of provinces and cities must be reduced by at least 70% and at most 75% compared to the total number of current commune-level units in the province or centrally-run city.

Naming principles of new commune level

Notably, Article 8 of the draft Resolution stipulates the naming and renaming of communes and wards formed after the rearrangement.

Accordingly, the names of newly formed communes and wards after the arrangement need to be easy to identify, concise, easy to read, easy to remember, and ensure systematic and scientific nature.

"It is recommended to name communes and wards according to serial numbers or according to the names of district-level administrative units (before arrangement) with serial numbers attached to facilitate digitization and updating of information data.", the draft states.

The Draft Resolution also encourages the use of one of the existing names of administrative units before the merger, prioritizing names that have historical, traditional, and cultural values ​​and are supported by local people.

The name of the new commune or ward after the arrangement must not be the same as the name of the existing unit of the same level within the province or centrally-run city or within the province or city planned to be established according to the arrangement orientation of provincial-level units approved by competent authorities.