Elections in the People's Republic of China
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Direct elections in the People's Republic of China take two forms: elections for village leader in selected rural villages and elections for local people congresses. Each people's congress then conducts an election for the next higher level of people's congress, culminating in elections for the national legislature: the National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui). The NPC has 2,979 members, elected for five year terms. Deputies are elected (over a three month period) by the people's congresses of the country's 23 provinces, five autonomous regions and the four municipalities directly under the Central Government, the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and the armed forces. The size of each college of delegates is related to the number of electors in the constituency. 36 deputies are elected in Hong Kong.
Although there is no legal requirement for either membership in or approval by the Communist Party of China, in practice the membership of the higher people's congresses are determined by the Party. It is possible for a dedicated person to campaign for and be elected at the lowest level of people's congresses, and this occurs from time to time. However because of the series of indirect elections between the local people's congress and the NPC, it is practically impossible for a person to be elected to provincial or national people's congresses against the wishes of the Communist Party. Furthermore, while legally responsible for the oversight of the administration, it is difficult for a person in a people's congress without party support to exercise effective control or power over the administration of the executive at a given level.
Officially, the People's Republic of China is a multi-party socialist state under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. In practice, the power of parties other than the Communist Party of China is severely limited due to the personnel structure outlined above. Because none of the minor parties have independent bases of support and rely on Communist Party approval for appointment to positions of power, none have the capacity to serve as a true opposition party. In order to represent different segments of the population and bring in technical expertise, the CCP does ensure that a significant minority of people's congress delegates either minor party or non-party delegates, and there is some tolerance of disagreement and debate in the legislative process where this does not fundamentally challenge the role of the Communist Party.
No parties other than the Communist Party and the eight so-called 'democratic' parties - all members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - were allowed at the last elections, which took place from October 2002 to March 2003.
| Parties | Seats |
|---|---|
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Zhongguo renmin zhengzhi xieshang huiyi)
|
2,979 |
| Total | 2,979 |
Since taking power in 1978, Deng Xiaoping experimented with direct democracy at the grassroots level. Villages have been traditionally the lowest level of government in China's complicated hierarchy of governance. In the early 1980's, a few southern villages began implementing "Vote for your Chief" policies, in which free elections are intended to be held for the election of a village chief, who holds a lot of power and influence traditionally in rural society. Many of these elections were successful, involving candidate debates, formal platforms, and the initiation of secret ballot boxes. The suffrage was universal, with all citizens above age 18 having the right to vote and be elected. Such an election comprises usually over no more than 2000 voters, and the first-past-the-post system is used in determining the winner, with no restriction on political affiliation. The elections are always supervised by a higher level of government, usually by a County Government.
