At the national conference to study, study, thoroughly grasp and implement the Resolution of the 3rd Conference of the 14th Central Executive Committee of the Party held on July 29, General Secretary and President To Lam stated clearly that the Central Government does not raise the issue of rearranging and adjusting the administrative boundaries of communes, because basically the entire system is operating stably and effectively.
Provinces and cities that find it truly necessary to adjust, based on the Party's guidelines, the State's laws, planning, management practices and the legitimate aspirations of the people, propose to competent authorities to decide.
The proposed plan to adjust administrative boundaries must be scientific, cautious, feasible, create consensus, and serve the socio-economic development goals of the locality and serve the people better," the General Secretary and President emphasized.
Thus, whether to implement administrative unit arrangement at commune level (UA) anymore or not, how to arrange it is assigned to localities to proactively research and propose based on the actual situation. This helps to promote the role and proactiveness of localities to have the most appropriate and effective arrangement plan for the situation and characteristics of each unit instead of implementing it simultaneously nationwide.
Ca Mau is one of the localities that has not yet had a policy to continue arranging commune-level administrative units.
According to the list of 705 communes and wards that have not met the standards in terms of area and population in 34 provinces and cities considered for merger policy by the Central Government, Ca Mau does not have any communes.
At the 2nd Session (taking place from July 20-21), the Son La Provincial People's Council did not approve a resolution on arranging and merging communes and wards in the area for many reasons.
First, regarding the authority to merge communes and wards under the authority of the National Assembly Standing Committee, not under the authority of the Provincial People's Council.
Second, on July 17, 2026, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee held a meeting to listen to opinions and conclusions on this content and according to the Conclusion of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, up to this moment, there is no policy to merge communes and wards in Son La province. This will only be implemented when there is a new policy from the Central Government.
In Hai Phong, the whole city has 9 communes and wards after the merger that do not meet the standards for area and 1 ward that does not meet the standards for population size according to Resolution No. 112/2025/UBTVQH15 on standards of administrative units (excluding Bach Long Vy special zone due to its characteristics).
The spirit of no major changes in administrative boundaries at commune level was also thoroughly grasped by Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the City Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Phong City Le Ngoc Chau on July 27 at the 3rd Session of the 17th City People's Council.
In Ho Chi Minh City, this locality has 54 units that do not fully meet the standards for population and area.
If considering the population criterion separately, Ho Chi Minh City has Con Dao Special Zone and Thanh An island commune that have not met the standards. However, these are all areas with special conditions, difficult to merge. Meanwhile, the remaining 52 communes and wards mainly do not meet the criteria for area.
However, population and area are not the only criteria for considering the arrangement of administrative units.
Whether to continue arranging administrative units or not will be researched and proposed by Ho Chi Minh City and each locality based on practice.
The Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee has assigned communes, wards, and special zones to organize exchanges, discussions, unify and report to the city on the needs for arrangement. This process must simultaneously consult and get people's opinions to ensure consensus.
To ensure objectivity, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee also assigned the Ho Chi Minh City Development Research Board to conduct independent research, assessing in aspects such as potential, development advantages, national defense, security and other specific factors.
Based on the proposal of the locality and the research results of the specialized unit, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee will consider and decide on each specific case.
The deadline for localities and the Ho Chi Minh City Development Research Board to complete the review, research, and report to the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee is before August 30.
