 The referendum was the last phase in the power struggle between Bảo Đại and his prime minister . Bảo Đại disliked Diệm and had frequently attempted to undermine him , having appointed him only because he was a conduit to American aid . At the time , the country was going through a period of insecurity , as Vietnam had been temporarily partitioned as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords that ended the First Indochina War . The State of Vietnam controlled the southern half of the country , pending national elections that were intended to reunify the country under a common government . Still , the Vietnamese National Army was not in full control of southern Vietnam ; the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects ran their own administrations in the countryside supported by private armies , while the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicate controlled the streets of Saigon . Despite interference from these groups , Bảo Đại , and even French officials , Diệm managed to subdue the private armies and consolidate government control over the country by mid @-@ 1955 . 
