Abstract

This article examines the implementation of grassroots democracy under the two-tier local government model in Can Tho City, drawing on the Can Tho City Party Committee’s 2026 preliminary report on the model’s first year of operation and relevant legal documents. Officially implemented on July 1, 2025, in accordance with the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, the model has generated several positive changes by shortening the administrative distance between the central and grassroots levels, strengthening decentralization to commune-level authorities, promoting digital transformation, and diversifying channels for dialogue with citizens. Nevertheless, its implementation has revealed several challenges, including uneven capacity among commune-level officials, incompatible digital infrastructure and specialized software, largely formalistic oversight mechanisms, and significant disparities among commune-level localities. The article identifies three gaps between legal provisions and practice and proposes five groups of solutions to safeguard the people’s right to participate in governance and contribute to building a modern, transparent, and community-oriented public administration.

Keywords: Can Tho, grassroots democracy, local governance, social oversight, two-tier local government.