State of Vietnam referendum, 1955

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Ngo Dinh Diem declared himself president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam after a fraudulent referendum.
Ngo Dinh Diem declared himself president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam after a fraudulent referendum.

The State of Vietnam referendum of 1955 determined the future form of government of the State of Vietnam, the nation that was to become the Republic of Vietnam. It was contested by Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, who proposed a republic, and Bao Dai, the Emperor of Vietnam, who was running on a monarchist platform. Diem won the election, which was widely marred by electoral fraud, with 98.2% of the vote. In the capital Saigon, Diem was credited with over 600,000 votes, even though only 450,000 people were on the electoral roll.[1][2] He accumulated tallies in excess of 90% of the registered voters, even in rural regions where voting was prevented by opposition groups.

The referendum was the last phase in the power struggle between Bao Dai and his prime minister. Bao Dai disliked Diem and had frequently attempted to undermine him, having appointed him only because he was a conduit to American aid. During the period, the country was going through a period of insecurity, as Vietnam had been temporarily partitioned as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords that ended the First Indochina War. The State of Vietnam controlled the southern half of the country, pending national elections that would reunify the country under a common government. The Vietnamese National Army was not in full control of the country, with the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious sects running their own administrations in the countryside with their private armies, while the Binh Xuyen organised crime syndicate controlled the streets of Saigon. Despite Bao Dai's interference, Diem had managed to subdue the private armies and enforce government over the country by mid-1955.

Emboldened by his success, Diem began to plot Bao Dai's downfall. He scheduled a referendum for October 23, 1955 and pushed Bao Dai out of the political scene, despite the emperor's attempts to derail the poll. In the period leading up to the vote, campaigning for the emperor was banned, while Diem's election campaign focused on personal attacks against Bao Dai. The government-controlled media launched polemical attacks on Bao Dai, and police went from door to door warning people of the consequences of failing to vote. After his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu successfully rigged the poll, Diem proclaimed himself president of the newly-created Republic of Vietnam.

Contents

[edit] Background

Main articles: Geneva Conference (1954), Operation Passage to Freedom, and Battle for Saigon

The defeat of the French Army at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, followed by the Geneva Accords, ended the French colonisation of Vietnam. Under the accords, the French colonial forces, which had run the country through the State of Vietnam and the titular Nguyen Dynasty Emperor Bao Dai, provisionally held control south of the 17th parallel. Ho Chi Minh's Vietminh held the north under the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which Ho had proclaimed in 1945. The agreements stated that nation-wide elections were to be held in 1956 to unify the country under a common government. In July 1954, during the transition period, Bao Dai appointed Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam. On October 11, 1954, the border was closed by the International Control Commission, after a period of 300 days during which free passage between both halves of Vietnam had been allowed. Under the Geneva Accords, anti-communist military personnel had obligated to be evacuated to the south, while communist forces were to be moved to the north. Civilians were free to move to whichever zone they preferred. During the 300 days, the Catholic Diem and his US CIA adviser Colonel Edward Lansdale staged a campaign to convince people to move to South Vietnam. The campaign was particularly focused on Catholics, who were to provide Diem's power base in his later years, with the use of the slogan "God has gone south". Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people migrated to the south, mostly Catholics. At the start of 1955, French Indochina was dissolved, leaving Diem in temporary control of the south.[3]

At the time, Diem had little authority beyond the gates of his own palace. Bao Dai had little confidence in him and gave him meagre support—the pair had clashed in the past, with Diem resigning as Bao Dai's Interior Minister two decades earlier, believing the emperor to be weak and ineffective. Most historians believe that Bao Dai selected Diem because of his ability to attract US support and funding.[4] Diem faced challenges to his authority from four groups. The Hoa Hao and Cao Dai religious sects had private armies that controlled the Mekong Delta and the areas west of Saigon, respectively. The Binh Xuyen was an armed, organised crime empire that controlled much of Saigon with a 40,000 strong private army, while the Vietminh still controlled much of the rural area. Diem's Vietnamese National Army (VNA) was led by General Nguyen Van Hinh, a French citizen who loathed and frequently disobeyed him. To make matters worse, Bao Dai sold the operating license of the national police to the Binh Xuyen, thereby putting administrative control of the police in the hands of a crime syndicate.[5]

Amid growing French and US skepticism of his ability to provide stable rule, Diem forced the matter to a head in April 1955. He ordered the Binh Xuyen to relinquish control of the National Police and submit to his command by integrating into the VNA, threatening to crush them if they refused. He bribed Hoa Hao and Cao Dai commanders into joining the VNA, gradually resulting in the defection of some commanders and their units, while others continued to lead their forces against Saigon. The Binh Xuyen defied Diem's ultimatum and on April 27, the VNA initiated the Battle for Saigon. After a brief but violent battle that left between 500 and 1,000 people dead and about 20,000 homeless, the Binh Xuyen were crushed. Diem had regained both US confidence and control of the police. Jubilant crowds lauded Diem and denounced Bao Dai.[6] Buoyed by his successes, Diem became more confident as he went about consolidating his hold on power. On May 15, Diem abolished Bao Dai's Imperial Guard; its 5,000 men became the 11th and 42nd Infantry Regiments of the VNA. Diem then stripped Bao Dai of his extensive crown lands. On June 15, Diem had the Council of the Royal Family at Hue declare that Bao Dai be stripped of his powers, and that he, Diem, be made president.[7]

[edit] Campaign

Colonel Edward Lansdale, who helped Diem in his campaign
Colonel Edward Lansdale, who helped Diem in his campaign

On July 7, 1955, the first anniversary of his installation as prime minister, Diem announced that a national referendum would be held on October 23, 1955 to determine the future of the country.[7] It was contested by Emperor Bao Dai, who had spent the majority of his ceremonial reign during the colonial period in France, advocating a monarchy. Diem ran on a republican platform. Lansdale cautioned Diem against using electoral fraud, believing that he would win a free election, stating "While I'm away I don't want to suddenly read that you have won by 99.99%. I would know that it's rigged then."[1] American officials thought that a fair election would have seen Diem poll around 60–70% of the vote.[1]

Diem ran a personal attack campaign against the emperor, for whom campaigning was prohibited. Diem's advertising included the parading of pageant-style floats of Bao Dai through the streets of Saigon, depicted with bags of money on his shoulders, a deck of cards in his hands and with naked women in his arms. This was a reference to the emperor's reputation for opulence, gambling and womanising.[8] According to Joseph Buttinger, who was based in Vietnam as the second in command at the International Rescue Committee, the methods used to influence the poll were "outrageous".[7] Diem's government-controlled press overwhelmed Bao Dai with endless personal propaganda attacks, with special editions of newspapers being devoted to polemical biographical accounts of the emperor. Posters and effigies associating Bao Dai with a pig's head were disseminated and police went from door to door, explaining the consequences of failing to vote.[7]

Lansdale advised Diem to print his ballots in red, while those of Bao Dai were printed in green. In Vietnam, red is associated with good luck and prosperity, whereas green is often associated with a cuckold and bad luck.[1][9] Diem's red ballots pictured him with youthful and modern-looking people, while Bao Dai's photo was placed in old fashioned robes which he never wore. The ballot claimed that a vote for Diem would be a vote for democracy, stating "I depose Bao Dai and recognise Ngo Dinh Diem as Head of State, charged with the commission of setting up a democratic regime".[7] Bao Dai's ballot read "I do not depose Bao Dai and do not regard Ngo Dinh Diem as the Head of State charged with the commission of setting up a democratic regime".[7] The use of such methods undermined Diem's later attempts to portray his regime as being morally motivated.[7]

[edit] Voting and aftermath

On October 15, Bao Dai issued a statement protesting against the referendum. He further urged the governments of France, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and even the Soviet Union not to recognise Diem, asserting that he was an obstacle to the reunification of Vietnam under the Geneva Accords. On October 18, Bao Dai made the token gesture of formally dismissing Diem. On October 19, he denounced "the police methods" of Diem's "dictatorship" and warned the Vietnamese populace "against a regime that was bound to lead them to ruin, famine, and war".[7] On the eve of the poll, Bao Dai stated "I can even tell you that I know the percentage of favourable votes that Mr. Diem has decided to obtain".[7]

Ngo Dinh Nhu (right), Diem's brother, supervised and rigged the referendum.
Ngo Dinh Nhu (right), Diem's brother, supervised and rigged the referendum.

The referendum was organised and supervised by Diem's brother and confidant Ngo Dinh Nhu, who was the leader of the family's secret Can Lao Party, which supplied the Ngos' electoral base. During the referendum, Nhu's staff told voters to throw away the green ballots. Those who disobeyed were often chased down and beaten, with pepper sauce and water sometimes being forced into their nostrils. The votes were counted without independent supervision, which resulted in Diem being credited with 98.2% of the vote. The prime minister tallied 605,025 votes in Saigon, although only 450,000 voters were registered in the capital. Diem's tally exceeded the registration numbers in other districts.[1][8]

The scholar Bernard B. Fall stated that "there is not the slightest doubt that this plebiscite was only a shade more fraudulent than most electoral tests under a dictatorship".[10] The near unanimous voter turnout and support for Diem was replicated in highland and Mekong Delta swamp areas, which were not even under the control of the government and its Vietnamese National Army.[10] In some districts of the Mekong Delta, overwhelming tallies for Diem in excess of 90% of the registered voters were recorded, even though the Hoa Hao warlord Ba Cut and his army had prevented voting.[7]

Three days after the vote, Diem proclaimed the creation of the Republic of Vietnam, naming himself as its president.[9] The United States government hailed Diem as a new hero of the "free world".[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A history. Penguin Books, p. 239. ISBN 0-670-84218-4. 
  2. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. ABC-CLIO, p. 366. ISBN 1-57607-040-0. 
  3. ^ Maclear, Michael (1981). Vietnam: The ten thousand day war. Methuen, pp. 65–68. ISBN 0-423-00580-4. 
  4. ^ Jacobs, p. 39.
  5. ^ Jacobs, pp. 61–62.
  6. ^ Jacobs, pp. 71–79.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Buttinger, Joseph (1967). Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled. Praeger Publishers, pp. 890–892. 
  8. ^ a b Jacobs, p. 95.
  9. ^ a b Langguth, A. J. (2000). Our Vietnam. Simon & Schuster, p. 99. ISBN 0-684-81202-9. 
  10. ^ a b Fall, Bernard B. (1963). The Two Viet-Nams. Praeger Publishers, p. 257. 

[edit] References