The National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP; Lao: ກອງປະຊຸມໃຫຍ່ຂອງ ພັກປະຊາຊົນປະຕິວັດລາວ) is the party's highest decision-making body. The LPRP has convened 11 congresses since its foundation in 1955, and eight since taking power in 1975. According to the party rules, the party congress is to be convened by the LPRP Central Committee (CC) every fifth year. It functions as a forum that approves party policy (such as the five-year plans), is empowered to amend the party's charter and program, and elects the Central Committee. The party leadership, through the Political Report of the Central Committee, briefs the party on its work in the period since its last congress, and sets out future goals for the period in between the next congress.
The congress was always convened in March from the 5th Congress in 1991 to the 9th Congress in 2011. According to Martin Sturt-Fox, this suggests an ideological cohesion within the party and its leadership. The 4th Congress introduced the "New Economic Mechanism" (NEM, market reforms). Partly for introducing NEM, the 4th Congress is the last congress to be postponed due to political infighting. Due to the party's secret nature, it's hard to discern the work and the political intrigues which takes place before the congress. In the run-up to party congresses, outside observers try to discern factional intrigues, usually between two supposedly "pro-Chinese" and "pro-Vietnamese" or "pro-reform" and "anti-reform" camps. Despite this, there seems to be broad agreement within the party on the path its pursuing: that is, creating a socialist market economic model and attracting foreign direct investment.
| Abbreviations | ||
|---|---|---|
| CC | Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party | |
| FM | Full member (a member with voting rights). | |
| AM | Alternate member (a member without voting rights). | |
| Political Report | Political Report to the Central Committee, a document which briefs delegates about the period since the last Congress and future work. | |
| PMR | Party members represented at the congress by delegates (the party membership at the time). | |
| Congress | Duration (start—end) | Delegates | CC elected | Political Report (presented by) | PMR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st National Congress 17 day None | 22 March – 14 April 1955 | 25 | 5 | None | ~400 | |
| 2nd National Congress 4 days 1972 election | 3 February – 6 February 1972 | 125 | 21 FM – 6 AM | Kaysone Phomvihane | 21,000 | |
| 3rd National Congress 4 days 1981–1982 election | 27 April – 30 April 1982 | 228 | 49 FM – 6 AM | Kaysone Phomvihane | 35,000 | |
| 4th National Congress 3 days 1985–1986 election | 13 November – 15 November 1986 | 300 | 51 FM – 9 AM | Kaysone Phomvihane | 40,000 | |
| 5th National Congress 3 days 1990–1991 election | 27 March – 29 March 1991 | 367 | 55 FM – 44 AM | Kaysone Phomvihane | 60,000 | |
| 6th National Congress 3 days 1995–1996 election | 18 March – 20 March 1996 | 381 | 49 | Khamtai Siphandon | 78,000 | |
| 7th National Congress 3 days 2000–2001 election | 12 March – 14 March 2001 | 452 | 53 | Khamtai Siphandon | 100,000 | |
| 8th National Congress 4 days 2005–2006 election | 18 March – 21 March 2006 | 498 | 55 | Khamtai Siphandon | 148,590 | |
| 9th National Congress 5 days 2010–2011 election | 17 March – 21 March 2011 | 576 | 61 | Choummaly Sayasone | 191,700 | |
| 10th National Congress 5 days 2015–2016 election | 18 January – 22 January 2016 | 685 | 69 – 8 AM | Choummaly Sayasone | 252,879 | |
| 11th National Congress 3 days 2020–2021 election | 13 January – 15 January 2021 | 768 | 71 – 10 AM | Bounnhang Vorachit | 348,686 |
Information on congresses, number of delegates, number of people elected to CCs, party membership, the individual who presented the Political Report and information on when the congress was convened can be found in these sources:
Articles and journals: