On 27 January 2016, the 12th National Congress elected 20 people to serve as alternates of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) for the electoral term 2016âÂÂ2021. The Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the CPV and Vietnam when the Party's National Congress and the Politburo are adjourned. In between two congresses, the Central Committee is responsible for organising and directing the implementation of the Party's Political Platform, Charter and resolutions adopted at the National Congress. It decides on guidelines and policies in all relevant fields, domestic or foreign. The sitting Central Committee is responsible for convening the next National Congress. Alternates are party cadres who have the right to speak and attend meetings of the Central Committee but do not have the right to vote. They are 45 years of age or younger and undergo long-term political education to prepare them for future assignments and election as a member of the Central Committee. Candidates for alternates need to meet the same standards as Central Committee members. Work assignments of alternates are decided upon by the Politburo. Lastly, alternates are responsible to and report on their work to the Central Committee.
Alternates were transferred to several assisting roles after the 16th National Congress. For instance, alternate Bùi NháºÂt Quang was appointed Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) on 8 March 2016, while ÃÂoàn Minh Huấn was appointed deputy editor-in-chief of the Central Committee's theoretical journal Tạp chàCá»Âng sản. Six months after his appointment, on 21 September, ÃÂoàn Minh Huấn was appointed the journal's editor-in-chief. For Bùi NháºÂt Quang it took three years to go from deputy to leader, and he was appointed President of the VASS on 11 November 2019. Other alternates held leadership posts in mass organisations, such as Lê Quá»Âc Phong, who was elected as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Há» ChàMinh Communist Youth Union on 21 April 2016. Several members served as leaders of provincial committees, such as Ngô ÃÂông Hải and ÃÂào Há»Âng Lan, who led the Thái Bình Provincial Party Committee and the Bắc Ninh Provincial Party Committee respectively. ÃÂào Há»Âng Lan became the first female party leader of Thái Bình province. Another female first was accomplished by Bùi Thá» Quỳnh Vân, who became the first women to serve as both Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Quảng Ngãi Provincial Party Committee. Some alternates held leading posts in provincial legislatures, such as Thái Thanh Quý, who served as Chairman of the Nghá» An Provincial People's Committee, and others in the state, such as Và © ÃÂại Thắng, who served as Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment.
Of the 20 alternates, Lê Quá»Âc Phong was the youngest one at 38 years of age. Three alternates were female (ÃÂào Há»Âng Lan, Châu Thá» Mỹ Phðáng and Bùi Thá» Quỳnh Vân), all but three were graduates (Há» VÃÂn Niên, Bùi ChàThành and Nguyá» n Khắc Toàn) and three had ethnic minority background (Há» VÃÂn Niên, Y Thanh HàNiê KdÃÂm and Lâm VÃÂn Mẫn). Ngô ÃÂông Hải, Lâm VÃÂn Mẫn and Nguyá» n Khắc Toàn had served as alternates of the 11th Central Committee in 2011âÂÂ2016. Of these three, Ngô ÃÂông Hải and Lâm VÃÂn Mẫn were elected as members of the 13th Central Committee (13th CC). Furthermore, all but four alternates (Nguyá» n Khắc Toàn, Nguyá» n VÃÂn Hiếu, Châu Thá» Mỹ Phðáng and Bùi ChàThành) were elected members of the 13th CC.