Bounnhang Vorachit was elected asSecretary General of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) atthe close of the 10th National Party Congress here on Friday.

It was announced that Bounnhang,currently serving as Vice-President of Laos, would assume the postof Secretary-General of the LPRP in a ceremony at the NationalConvention Centre in the Lao capital.

Bounnhang, 78, replaces retiringSecretary-General and President of Laos Choummaly Sayasone who wasfirst elected to the top post of the LPRP at the 8th Congress in2006 and reelected in 2011.

Choummaly succeeded KhamtaySiphandone as President of Laos in June of the same year.

Addressing delegates, Bounnhangstressed policy continuity.

"The Lao People's RevolutionaryParty will continue its comprehensive process of self-renewal,seriously implement 10 resolutions in order to seek Laos'graduation from the list of least developed countries by 2020 andachieve the status of upper-middle income country by 2030 whileprogressing along the socialist path," Secretary-General Bounnhangsaid.

Born in the Lao province ofSavannakhet in 1937, Bounnhang served as an LPRP secretary in therevolutionary Lao People's Armed Forces that successfully gainedvictory in Laos' northern Luang Prabang province in the closingstages of the Indochina conflict (Vietnam War), helping to usher inthe establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic inDecember 1975.

He has served in several seniorparty and state and military roles in the period since, includingone 5-year term as the country's Prime Minister from 2001-2006.

The result is set to see Bounnhangheading up the newly elected 69-member Party Central Committee and11-member Politburo, Laos' key party political bodies, until thenext Congress expected in 2021.

Among the tasks of the newlyelected Secretary-General will be to oversee selection of new headsof state and government which will then be voted on by the NationalAssembly, Laos' legislative body.

Before the vote can be held, a newNational Assembly will be chosen in a general election set forMarch where voters throughout Laos aged 18 and over will electlegislators from a list of pre-selected candidates.

During the 10th Party Congress fromJan. 18 to 22, delegates heard a political report from the outgoing9th Party Central Committee Secretary-General and President of LaosChoummaly Sayasone on achievements and challenges over the lastfive years, as well as authorising the National Socio-EconomicDevelopment Plan for 2016-2020 and proposed amendments to the PartyStatute.

Provincial governors also gavelocalized reports on development efforts across the country.

Laos' first national Party Congresswas held in 1955, the founding year of the LPRP. Enditem

Go to Forum >>Comment(s)