Changes

After the French defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, a peace conference was held in Geneva ending the Indonesian War between France and the Viet Minh. In addition to ending hostilities, the country of Vietnam was divided into two separate countries; North Vietnam or Democratic Republic of Vietnam and South Vietnam or the Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Communist Party were in control of the north and Ngo Dinh Diem in control of the south. In addition, the agreement in Geneva called for reunified elections in 1956, with negotiations between the two countries to begin in 1955. Diem refused to negotiate about the unified elections and the proposed elections of 1956 were never held. The division of Vietnam lasted for twenty years.

The final move for the consolidation of power under Diem was the refutation of the Emperor of Vietnam, Bảo Đại, the last vestige of monarchy and colonialism in the country. In October of 1955 a referendum was held, essentially voting for Diem and the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam or the retention of Dai as the head of state. Diem won what many have concluded was a fraudulent election. This is a fair assessment when a number of facts are considered. The 98.2% vote for Diem is hard to fathom and harder still to believe. Further, the number of votes cast was 380,000 more than the number of people registered to vote. Similarly, Diem carried the voting region of Saigon where only about 400,000 people were registered to vote. 605,000, however, voted for Diem from the district. Regardless, Diem was named President of the Republic of Vietnam.

===Combating Communism===