Social Science and Human Research Bulletin

This article examines how the quality of oversight exercised by the People’s Council of Linh Toai Commune can be improved in the context of administrative reorganization and rising expectations for grassroots accountability. The study adopts a single-case design and combines legal analysis, documentary analysis, and a descriptive survey. Documentary sources include legal instruments governing local oversight, socioeconomic reports of Thanh Hoa Province, the 2026 organizational report of the People’s Council of Linh Toai Commune, and records inherited from predecessor communes. The survey dataset consists of 120 valid responses, including 30 People’s Council delegates, 20 commune officials and civil servants, and 70 voters. Descriptive statistics on a five-point Likert scale were used to assess five dimensions of oversight quality: planning, evidence collection, questioning and explanation, transparency and citizen participation, and post-oversight follow-up. The findings show that Linh Toai Commune has maintained the operational continuity of its representative institution after merger and has selected oversight topics that are relatively close to voters’ daily concerns, especially waste-fee collection and benefits for meritorious service beneficiaries. However, the weakest links remain evidence triangulation, digital tools for receiving public feedback, and the institutionalization of follow-up after oversight conclusions are issued. Reform priorities identified by respondents focus on standardized procedures and forms, practical training for delegates, stronger post-oversight monitoring, data management, and broader citizen participation. The article argues that in newly merged communes, oversight quality depends less on the formal availability of powers than on procedural standardization, usable data, and the ability to convert conclusions into enforceable follow-up actions.

People’s Council; local oversight; commune governance; administrative merger; Thanh Hoa; accountability.

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