Part 2: Selecting personnel, laying grassroots-level foundation

Appointed personnel must not only fully meet standards and conditions, but also possess competence, ethical virtue, prestige, sound health, and the capacity to foster unity across the community. This also represents the requirement established by localities in building village-level cadre ranks capable of meeting tasks under the new circumstances.

Rejuvenation and educational enhancement

Prior to reorganization, Mường Mùn commune had 31 village Party cells. Effective July 1, 2026, the number of cells was reduced to 18, a drop of 41.9%, including 12 newly established cells formed by merging 25 previous cells. Streamlining administrative units while expanding cell sizes sets higher demands for Party cell committee members in leadership, guidance, Party member management, situational awareness, and mass mobilization.

On that basis, the commune Party Committee consolidated the contingent of secretaries, deputy secretaries, and cell committee members across the 18 cells toward selecting individuals with political virtue, working competence, prestige, a sense of responsibility, and the capacity to rally Party members and the masses, while emphasizing youth renewal to cultivate successor cadre reserves.

Results reveal marked shifts in age structure and educational levels among village Party cell secretaries. All 18 village cell secretaries are currently aged 45 or younger, comprising 6 comrades under 35 years old, 8 comrades aged 36 to 40, and 4 comrades aged 41 to 45. In terms of general education and professional qualifications, 16 out of 18 comrades graduated from upper secondary school; 9 out of 18 comrades hold intermediate-level diplomas or higher, including 4 with university degrees, 1 with a college diploma, and 4 with intermediate qualifications. In political theory, 3 comrades hold intermediate certifications and 1 holds elementary certification.

Trần Khắc Tuấn, Secretary of the Mường Mùn commune Party Committee, shared that following reorganization, the commune’s contingent of village Party cell secretaries was consolidated toward rejuvenation, steadily raising qualifications and quality to create a springboard for continued training and successor cadre cultivation. However, the commune Party Committee affirmed that rejuvenating cadre contingents does not solely mean focusing on chronological age. Operational requirements demand that cadres possess political qualities, a sense of responsibility, competence, prestige, readiness to embrace innovation, seasoning through practice, and the ability to inherit the experience of senior predecessors.

This approach is also demonstrated in Nậm Kè commune. Following reorganization, the contingent of village Party cell secretaries decreased from 21 to 14 comrades. Alongside numerical reduction, the structure and quality of the contingent showed positive shifts: 12 out of 14 comrades have attained upper secondary education, reaching 85.7%; 6 comrades hold university degrees, accounting for 42.9%; and 6 comrades possess intermediate political theory qualifications, representing 42.9%. Notably, the average age of cell secretaries dropped from 43 to 36 years old.

Giàng A Dế, Secretary of the Nậm Kè commune Party Committee, noted that remarkable transformations after reorganization lie not only in numerical streamlining, but in quality. The consolidated contingent is fundamentally younger, with better professional qualifications and political theory background, thereby generating additional successor reserves and augmenting capacity in grassroots leadership, direction, and mass mobilization.

Cultivating village head reserves who are Party members is also prioritized by Nậm Kè. Among the locality’s 14 provisional village heads, 11 comrades are Party members, 7 comrades possess upper secondary diplomas, and the average age is 37. Compared to the period prior to restructuring, the average age of village heads in Nậm Kè fell by 8 years, and the proportion of village heads holding Party membership surged from 23.8% to 78.6%.

Transformations across localities demonstrate that screening, selection, and quality enhancement for village, hamlet, and residential group cadres are moving in tandem with age rejuvenation. This trend is evident across numerous provincial localities.

From policy to figures

To attain current outcomes, personnel selection was planned proactively from an early stage. Executing Guidance No.03-HD/BTCTW of the Central Organizing Commission, the Organizing Commission of the Điện Biên provincial Party Committee advised the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee to issue Official Dispatch No.1036-CV/TU dated June 23, Official Dispatch No.644-CV/BTCTU dated June 23, and Official Dispatch No.584-CV/BTCTU dated June 4 to guide and urge the reorganization, establishment, and consolidation of Party organizations across villages, hamlets, and residential groups.

Accordingly, priority is given to selecting and assigning commune-level non-professional personnel who have received basic training, comrades with upper secondary education or intermediate qualifications and higher, and those demonstrating competence, sound moral virtue, and good health to hold non-professional posts in villages, hamlets, and residential neighborhoods.

Localities also prioritize selecting village heads and heads of Front work boards who are Party members, working toward the goals and mandates of the 15th provincial Party Congress Resolution and Resolution No.07-NQ/TU dated December 31, 2025. For Party cells not subject to restructuring, commune and ward Party executive committees review structures and personnel contingents to consolidate leadership committees where necessary.

Bùi Xuân Trường, Deputy Head of the provincial Party Committee’s Organization Commission, emphasized that villages, hamlets, and residential groups are localities directly organizing the implementation of Party guidelines, State policies and laws, and local mandates. Therefore, the province identifies building a contingent of cell secretaries, village heads, residential group leaders, and Front work board heads possessing virtue, prestige, and competence as a paramount task, coupled with candidate development, Party recruitment, and gradual standardization of personnel.

Based on guidance documents, commune and ward Party committees across the province formulated schemes for reorganizing and establishing Party cells in hamlets and residential blocks, alongside personnel plans for cell committees, secretaries, deputy secretaries, and committee members. Localities clearly delineated cells terminating operations, newly established cells, and placement plans. Postings were carried out according to standards, prerequisites, statutory authority, and instructions from competent bodies.

Following reorganization, the entire province counts 888 villages, hamlets, and residential groups with corresponding Party cells, down 38.6% compared to the earlier figure. According to the provincial Party Committee’s Organization Commission, the proportion of cell secretaries with upper secondary education increased from 50.4% to 67.3%. The rate of village and residential group heads who are Party members grew from 73.2% to 78.5%, while the rate of Front work board heads holding Party membership climbed from 62.8% to 74.2%.

These advancements are helping realize Resolution No.07-NQ/TU dated December 31, 2025, of the Executive Board of the provincial Party Committee on enhancing the leadership capacity and combative strength of grassroots Party organizations, thereby strengthening the grassroots political system for the 2026 - 2030 period. The resolution sets targets by 2030 to achieve 90% or more of village and residential group heads as Party members, 80% or more of cell secretaries holding upper secondary diplomas, and 90% or more of Front work board heads holding Party membership. Post-merger achievements are moving Điện Biên closer to these crucial benchmarks.

Shifts in age, educational levels, and Party membership ratios indicate that village-level cadre ranks are being systematically consolidated to meet new operational demands. Nevertheless, selecting appropriate personnel is merely the opening step. The decisive factor remains whether these cadres can unleash their competence, satisfy workload requirements, build consensus, and deliver tangible transformations across assigned jurisdictions.

The answer must be verified through actual grassroots practice. Through practical operations, remaining skill gaps and experience deficits will become apparent, serving as the basis to continue designing structured roadmaps for persistent training, seasoning, and long-term cadre development.