Central Committee 10th Congress - 2016
A total of of 69 people elected to the Party Central Committee during the 10th Party Congress of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the country’s most important political event, held in the capital Vientiane in January. Before the 10th Party Congress, former president Khamtay, backed by Vietnam, worked hard to get involved in the selection of the new Central Party Committee members and eliminate any pro-Chinese leaders. After the congress, it was clear that Khamtay still had the power and influence to decide the nation’s future and is one of only two people that can determine the destiny of the country.
With the selection of new national leaders and the arrests of some old ones, Laos appeared to be cementing its ties to Vietnam as it is attempting to blunt Beijing’s push to exert more influence over the country. The results of the election for the new party central committee in Vientiane saw Bounnhang Vorachit getting the nod for president and Thongloun Sisoulith getting tapped for prime minister. National Assembly chairwoman and former central bank governor Pany Yathotu would also get the nod for vice president.
Current President Choummaly Sayasone, Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, and Deputy Prime Miniester Somsavat Lengsavad are expected to retire, opening the way for the changes. That new slate at the top of the secretive one-party state were all viewed to be pro-Hanoi while those who are exiting have been allied with the Chinese. It is clear that after the regime of President Choumaly Sayasone and Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad there is no pro-Chinese group.
Before the 10th Party Congress, Vietnamese national leaders often visited and worked in Laos, and groups of Lao leaders worked closely with their Vietnamese counterparts indicating that Vietnam -- who is a big brother to Laos -- wanted to get involved in the election of the new party central committee because it wants to kick out the pro-Chinese leaders.
There were other indications that the current regime’s tilt toward Beijing is raising concerns among the country’s ruling elite. In an indication that the out-going regime has been discredited, the former minister of finance Phouphet Khamphounvong and Somphao Phaysith, governor of the central bank, who have close ties to those leaders have been arrested for corruption. Somphao Phaysith was arrested inJanuary 2016, while Phouphet Khamphounvong was arrested in December 2015.
The out-going regime also shouldered the blame for Laos economic woes and the country’s rampant corruption. For five years, under these three leaders the economic crisis has worsened so much that state employees did not get paid for two to three months. The three leaders worked hand-in-hand to protect each others’ personal economic interest. If Choummaly inspected Somsavat for giving a Chinese investor a land concession for an economic zone, then Choummaly gat involved in illegal logging. Thongsing also had problems with conflicts of interest – getting his family road construction projects in Vientiane -- so how can he inspect others?
The selection of a new slate of leaders also raises questions about the controversial high-speed Lao-China railway. In January 2016 Vientiane and Beijing agreed on the interest rate for a U.S. $480 million Chinese-backed loan to help build the U.S. $7 billion project. A ground-breaking ceremony was conducted in Vientiane on Jan. 2. The railway forms part of a larger 3,000-kilometer regional rail link that will run from Kunming in southern China’s Yunnan province through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore. While the rail line is expected to give the underdeveloped, landlocked nation an economic boost, questions had been raised about its costs. The question is: Will the Laos-China railway project continue going smooth or will it face barriers after Choummaly and Somsavat are kicked off? The future of this project might have uncertainty and anything can be changed.
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