The Communist Party Congress began in Vietnam today, where 1.568 delegates will elect a new leadership and set the country's political and economic priorities.
They will also elect 200 members of the Central Committee, which will appoint 17 or 19 members of the Communist Party's Politburo.
The current Secretary General, To Lam, is expected to be elected for another five-year term.
Lam will thus combine the roles of party chief and president of the state, following the example of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Vietnam is traditionally governed through a "four-pillar" system, in which the party chief, president, prime minister, and speaker of the National Assembly hold the most power.
A possible change of such roles would make Lama the most powerful leader in Vietnam in decades.
Lam spent several dozen years at the Ministry of Public Security before becoming minister in 2016.
He led the anti-corruption campaign advocated by his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong.
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