Leaders quit top posts in Vietnam

Vietnam’s three top leaders have quit to make way for younger politicians in a long-awaited shuffle of the communist nation’s government, an official said today.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, 72, President Tran Duc Luong, 69, and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An, 69, submitted their resignations to the assembly on Saturday.

The National Assembly in Hanoi voted to accept the resignations on the same day, but the vote result was not announced until today.

“The legislators accepted their resignations with a large majority,” said Nguyen Sy Dung, deputy head of the assembly’s office.

The assembly was scheduled to elect a new chairman later today. Communist Party chief for Hanoi, Nguyen Phu Trong, 62, was the sole candidate for the job, he said.

Mr Dung said MPs would elect a new president tomorrow and a new prime minister on Wednesday before wrapping up their six-week session on Thursday.