In addition to this term, in about 2 years, there would be a countrywide election on the question of unification. In 1956, with the support of the United States, Diem won the election with 5,722,000 votes while Bao Dai only received 63,000 votes. .
As president, Diem started to make changes, which conflicted with the ideals of the Viet Minh. The situation regarding to land reforms before Diem came to power was that land was taken from landlords and given to peasants. The Viet Minh controlled most of the countryside and chased out the landlords and ultimately distributed the land to the peasants. In 1955, the formation of peasant associations took direct action against the landlords. When Diem came to power, his first actions included the return of land from the peasants to the landlords. The army of republic of Vietnam, also known as ARVN, forced peasants to return the land they owned to the landlords. By 1961, landlords controlled almost two-thirds of the land. These unpopular and repressive measures deepened general opposition to Diem's rule. As a result, in 1960, the National Liberation Front, also known as NLF, was created which was a group committed to overthrow Diem's regime and the reunification of North and South Vietnam. .
In 1963, Diem's regime continued to suffer. At the Battle of Ap Bac in the Mekong Delta, 2500 ARVN troops with U.S. advisors and supported by bombers and helicopters failed to defeat a group of 300 NLF guerrillas. American advisers had "instructed, demanded, pleaded with their ARVN colleagues to pursue a more offensive strategy", but it was apparent that ARVN did not truly take America's requests into account (Young 90). This battle was seen as symbolic of the poor fighting ability of the South Vietnamese army, revealing that government troops are incapable of surpassing the Viet Cong. It showed that the Diem regime was not able to militarily stop the NLF even if they had an advantage.