Elections in China

1.

Elections in
China

2.

The State Structure

3.

Elections in China are based on a hierarchical electoral system
People's Congresses are directly elected
“Directly elected” means that people vote directly for a candidate or a party they
desire to see elected.
Examples of directly elected bodies are the European Parliament (since 1979)

4.

Elections in China are based on a hierarchical electoral system
The national legislature are indirectly elected by the People's Congress of
the level immediately below
An indirect election is an election in which voters do not choose between
candidates, but elect people who then choose
Governors, mayors, and heads of counties, districts, townships and towns
are in turn elected by the respective local People's Congresses
Presidents of people's courts and chief procurators of people's
procuratorates are elected by the respective local People's Congresses
above the county level

5.

The President and the State Council are elected by the National People's
Congress, which is made of 2980 people

6.

Direct elections
People's Congresses of cities that are not divided into districts (不设区的市-Bù shè qū de shì),
counties (县-Xiàn), city districts (市辖区-Shì xiáqū), towns (镇-Zhèn), townships (乡-Xiāng), and
lastly ethnic townships (民族乡-Mínzú xiāng), are directly elected.
Village (村-Cūn) committee members and chairpersons are directly elected.
Local People's Congresses have the constitutional authority to recall the heads and deputy heads of
government at the provincial level and below
Under the electoral law of 1979, nomination of candidates for direct elections (in
counties, townships, etc.) can be made by the Communist Party of China, the various
other political parties, mass organizations, or any voter seconded by at least 3 others

7.

Local People's Congresses
The final list of electoral candidates must be worked out through
"discussion and consultation" or primary elections, which in practice is
done via the election committee in consultation with small groups of
voters, through a process known as the "three ups and three downs" (三
上三下, sān shàng sān xià)

8.

According to the Chinese government, the "three ups and three downs" process is supposed
to operate as follows:
first "up" - the election committee collates all of the nominations, checks them, and publishes
the list of nominees and their basic details
first "down"- the published list is given to groups of electors, comprising the voters in each
geographical or institutional electorate for discussion
second "up" - the views of the groups of electors are conveyed via group representatives at a
committee meeting, in order to reduce the number of candidates
second "down"- the views of different elector groups and the discussions at the committee
meeting are then conveyed to voters
third "up" - the views of the groups of electors are once again collated and reported to the election
committee which, by reference to the views of the majority of electors, determine the final list of
candidates
third "down" - the list of names and basic details is published by electorate

9.

Local People's Governments
direct nomination and election (Chinese:
直推直选; pinyin: zhi tui zhi xuan)
direction election (Chinese: 直选; pinyin:
zhi xuan)
two ballots in three rounds (Chinese: 三
轮两票制; pinyin: san lun liang piao zhi)
competition based on mass
recommendation (Chinese: 民推竞选;
pinyin: min tui jing xuan)
nomination and election by the masses (
海选 or hǎi xuǎn; literally "sea election")
public recommendation and public
election (Chinese: 公推公选; pinyin:
gong tui gong xuan)
vote of confidence (Chinese: 信任投票;
pinyin: xin ren tou piao)

10.

Indirect elections
People's Congresses of
provinces (省), directly
controlled municipalities (直辖
市), and cities divided into
districts (设区的市) are
indirectly elected by the
People's Congress of the level
immediately below.

11.

National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) has 2980
members, elected for five year terms. Deputies are
elected (over a three-month period) by the people's
congresses of the provinces of China, autonomous
regions, municipalities directly under the Central
Government, 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.

12.

National People's Government
The President and Vice President of China, the Chairman,
Vice-Chairman, and Secretary-General of the Standing
Committee of the NPC, the Chairman of the Central
Military Commission, and the President and Chief Justice
of the Supreme People's Court are all elected by the NPC
on the nomination of the Presidium of the NPC.
The Premier is elected by the NPC on the nomination of the
President.
Other members of the State Council are elected by the NPC
on the nomination of the Premier.
Other members of the Central Military Commission are
elected by the NPC on the nomination of the Chairman of
the Central Military Commission

13.

The number of constituencies
There are 35 major constituencies in China. Two of them are in
Hong Kong and Makao

14.

Political parties in China
Communist Party of China (CPC) 中国共产党 中共
China Zhi Gong Party (CZGP) 中国致公党 致公党
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party
(CPWDP) 中国农工民主党 农工党
China Democratic League (CDL) 中国民主同盟 民盟
Jiusan Society (JS) 九三学社
China Democratic National Construction Association
(CDNCA) 中国民主建国会 民建)
China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) 中
国民主促进会 民进
Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSGL)
台湾民主自治同盟 台盟
Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang
(RCCK) 中国国民党革命委员会 民革