Thuong Thi Mai, 66, was accused by the party of “violations and shortcomings” committed when she held another leadership position between 2016 and 2021, according to a statement issued on the portal of the party.

Mai was the only woman in the powerful Politburo, Vietnam’s elite decision-making body. She was also a permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and had been touted as a possible candidate for state president.

Former President Vo Van Thuong quit in March just over a year after he was appointed to replace another dismissed president in an unprecedented series of high-profile resignations.

Foreign investors, on which the Southeast Asian manufacturing nation relies, have repeatedly voiced concerns about the administrative paralysis caused by the frequent leadership changes and ever-expanding investigations prompted by the “blazing furnace” anti-bribery drive.

During a meeting on Thursday of its central committee, the party elected four new members of the Politburo, which has 18 statutory members. With Mai’s resignation it has been left with only 12.

It also said it would propose to the national assembly new candidates for house speaker and president, without naming them.

Parliament is expected to vote on those in a regular session starting on Monday.

The new members of the Politburo include Nguyen Trong Nghia, 62, who heads a 10,000-strong cybersecurity unit and is the party’s propaganda chief, and former central bank governor Le Minh Hung, 53.

The party also elected Bui Thi Minh Hoai, 59, as a new member of the Politburo, the only woman in the group. She had succeeded Mai at the head of the mass mobilisation committee, an advisory body on public security, religion and minorities.

The fourth new member of the Politburo is Do Van Chien, 62, who is the president of the Fatherland Front, a body that is involved in social policies.

It is not clear when the party will elect the other two missing members of the Politburo.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen, Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Martin Petty and Nick Macfie)