At the Q3/2026 press conference organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the afternoon of September 11, Mr. Phan Trung Tuan - Director of the Department of Local Government (Ministry of Home Affairs) - said that currently no locality has proposed arranging commune-level administrative units.
After implementing the arrangement of provincial-level and commune-level administrative units, the focus is currently on continuing to stabilize the organization and improve the operational capacity of the local government at 2 levels, especially at the commune level.
According to Mr. Tuan, from 63 provinces and cities that have been arranged, there are 34 provinces and cities; the number of commune-level units has also decreased from more than 10,035 to about 3,321 units.
At the recent 3rd Central Conference, when evaluating a year of operating the overall model of the political system and the 2-level local government model, the Central Committee assessed the achieved results, and pointed out some limitations in the operation process and proposed tasks and solutions in the coming time.
After that, the Central Government issued Conclusion 76 dated July 28, 2026, and at the same time issued Plan No. 06 to implement tasks and solutions in the coming time, related to continuing to effectively operate the political system and the 2-level local government model.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has advised the Government to issue Resolution No. 21 dated August 9, 2026 to deploy tasks and solutions to implement the Central Committee's Conclusion.
The general spirit is to maintain the stability of administrative units, while focusing on improving operational capacity, especially at the commune level. The commune level will become the leading line in the new operational model of the 2-level local government.
In Plan No. 06, the Central Government basically orients to maintain the stability of administrative units. However, currently there are some small-scale commune-level units that do not ensure room for local development. This number is not large.
The Central Government does not require adjustment or arrangement of all units. However, provinces and cities must carefully review and evaluate each commune-level administrative unit.
For units that have not met the standards and criteria according to current regulations, review and re-evaluate, and if really necessary, propose adjustments and arrangements.
An important requirement emphasized by Mr. Phan Trung Tuan is that the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the City Party Committee must be responsible for their proposals.
Accordingly, when proposing to the Central Government on the adjustment and arrangement of one or more commune-level units that do not meet standards, criteria or other specific cases of the locality, it must be ensured that the unit after adjustment can meet the development goals.
This is the authority and responsibility of the locality in the process of reviewing and arranging commune-level administrative units," Mr. Tuan said.
