Commune-level People’s Councils promote role under new model

The Law on Organization of Local Government No. 72/2025/QH15 enhances decentralization and empowerment for People’s Councils, granting commune-level People’s Councils new powers that enable them not only to supervise but also to actively decide on local development policies.

The first Long Thanh Commune People’s Council for 2021-2026 term holds second session, deciding on a series of contents related to local development.

Voters and residents expect the commune-level People’s Councils to fully grasp and effectively exercise their power so they can truly function as a local competent institution, meeting the requirements of the new situation.

Timely issuing resolutions to meet practical needs

Before the merger of administrative units, many hamlets and neighborhoods were named using numerical order, resulting in duplicate names after reorganization. This is one of key matters of great interest for voters and residents, as it directly affects their daily life.

Nguyen Hai Dang, a resident of Long Thanh commune, shared: “Duplicate names for hamlets and neighborhoods cause significant inconvenience in daily activities, travel, and business. They should be changed soon for consistency, which will also make local governance easier.”

Understanding the voters’ expectations and adhering to legal provisions, many commune and ward People’s Councils across the province, with their assigned competence, have swiftly reviewed and approved resolutions to rename their hamlets and neighborhoods.

For example, at the second session of Long Thanh commune’s People’s Council, aside from other matters, a resolution was passed to change the names of 6 neighborhoods and 1 hamlet. Following this, Long Thanh commune now has 27 hamlets in total.

Earlier, Tam Hiep Ward People’s Council also held a special session to approve renaming neighborhoods.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Tam Hiep ward People’s Council, noted that the ward was formed from the merger of four wards. The name changes addressed the aspirations of residents and improved governance efficiency as well as infrastructure investment in the neighborhoods.

Le Thi Hai, a resident of neighborhood 5, Tam Hiep ward, said: “After the renaming, life has become much easier for residents in the neighborhood. Even something as simple as online shopping is more convenient, we can now give clear directions to delivery drivers without having to circle around multiple times to find our house.”

Under the Law No. 72/2025/QH15, commune-level People’s Councils have the authority to establish, reorganize, dissolve, name, or rename villages and residential groups. This power has been quickly exercised to support local development and meet voters’ expectations.

From ‘participation’ to ‘decision-making’

Also according to the Law No. 72/2025/QH15, from July 1, 2025, the law grants commune-level People’s Councils broader authority, shifting their role from merely “participating” to actively “deciding,” making them a true power institution at the local level in line with new demands.

Hoang Van Thanh, a voter from Nhon Trach commune, said: “We hope that with more deputies, representatives will be closer to voters, promptly capturing and addressing our opinions and requests. There should also be effective coordination between People’s Councils, People’s Committees, the Fatherland Front Committees, and relevant agencies at the same levels, so that each body can best fulfill its role.”

Article 21 of the 2025 Law on Organization of Local Government, the commune-level People’s Councils are assigned nine groups of tasks and powers in several fields, including some previously handled at the district level People’s Councils. Particularly, the communal People’s Councils can decide on five-year and annual socio-economic development plans, sectoral development strategies, detailed infrastructure and transportation planning, and more. They also have the authority to decide on the establishment, reorganization, renaming, or dissolution of specialized agencies and other administrative organizations under the People’s Committee at the same level; determine specific staffing levels for officials and civil servants in local government bodies under their jurisdiction; and review and give opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, or adjustment of boundaries and renaming of administrative units at their level.

Notably, the new law adds that the commune-level People’s Councils are authorized to decide on measures, programs, and projects for the development of science, technology, information, innovation, and digital transformation in their localities; measures to build digital local government, a digital economy, and a digital society in their areas; and measures to promote the application of information technology and digital transformation in the operations of local government bodies at their level and in the provision of public services to residents and businesses in accordance with the law.

Standing Committees of local People’s Councils believe that with greater powers comes the need for higher competence of each People Council deputy, particularly in skills such as oversight, debate, questioning, and verification. Therefore, they propose enhancing training and capacity-building activities for commune-level People’s Council deputies to improve operational quality, especially in areas such as budgeting, public investment, and digital transformation.

It is also a fact that following the merger of administrative units and the adoption of the two-tier local government model, the number of commune-level People’s Council deputies has significantly increased. While voters see this as a strength, they also expect quality to match quantity so that the deputies can truly represent the voice and aspirations of the people.

By Ho Thao

Translated by Minh Nguyet - Thu Ha