Direct Democracy under the Conditions of One Party Ruling in Modern Vietnam

Abstract

The issue of direct democracy is a concern of many countries around the world, including Vietnam. The implementation of direct democracy is the basis for ensuring the power of the people. Therefore, together with representative democracy, the implementation of direct forms of democracy is of indispensable importance in modern states. Currently, most countries tend to expand the form of direct democracy along with strengthening and promoting the effectiveness of representative democracy, in order to ensure the strong promotion of civil rights in the exercise of state power.  As a country with a political regime with only one ruling Party, Vietnam is in the process of promoting the democratization of political, economic and socio-cultural life, identify democracy as both a goal and a driving force for national reform and renewal. Direct democracy is specified in the Constitution and law of Vietnam with many forms of implementation such as: referendums, elections, dismissals of voters, contributions to draft policies and laws of the State, inspection and supervision of the operation of the State apparatus, complaints, denunciations, protests... etc. As the only ruling party in Vietnam, the Communist Party of Vietnam has always focused on expanding the form of direct democracy to ensure the true mastery of the people, however, the effectiveness of this form of democracy in Vietnam now faces many challenges such as: issues of people's level, inadequacies of the legal system, the culture of public service performance of civil servants, the psychology of relying on the party and state of the people ... The article focuses on clarifying the role of direct democracy, analyzing the Communist Party of Vietnam's position system on direct democracy and recognizing the limitations in the implementation of this form of democracy in modern Vietnam.