View source for Elections in China

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{{About|elections in the People's Republic of China|elections in the Republic of China|Elections in Taiwan}}
{{Politics of China |expanded = Leadership}}

'''Elections in the People's Republic of China''' occur under a [[One-party state|one-party]] [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] political system controlled by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Gandhi |first1=Jennifer |last2=Lust-Okar |first2=Ellen |date=2009-06-01 |title=Elections Under Authoritarianism |journal=[[Annual Review of Political Science]] |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=403–422 |doi=10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060106.095434 |issn=1094-2939 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Ching Kwan |last2=Zhang |first2=Yonghong |date=2013-05-01 |title=The Power of Instability: Unraveling the Microfoundations of Bargained Authoritarianism in China |journal=[[American Journal of Sociology]] |volume=118 |issue=6 |pages=1475–1508 |doi=10.1086/670802 |issn=0002-9602 |s2cid=144559373}}</ref> [[Direct elections]], except in the [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative regions]] of [[Elections in Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] and [[Elections in Macau|Macau]], occur only at the local level people's congresses and village committees, with all candidate nominations preapproved by the CCP.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Geddes |first1=Barbara |title=How Dictatorships Work |last2=Wright |first2=Joseph |last3=Frantz |first3=Erica |date=2018 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-316-33618-2 |pages=141 |doi=10.1017/9781316336182 |s2cid=226899229}}</ref> By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Hao |first1=Mingsong |last2=Ke |first2=Xiwang |date=5 July 2023 |title=Personal Networks and Grassroots Election Participation in China: Findings from the Chinese General Social Survey |journal=[[Journal of Chinese Political Science]] |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=159–184 |doi=10.1007/s11366-023-09861-3 |issn=1080-6954 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Since the [[Proclamation of the People's Republic of China|founding]] of the People's Republic of China, elections have been highly constrained by the CCP's monopoly on power, limitations on [[Censorship in China|free speech]], and party control over nominations.<ref name="Hernández">{{Cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |date=2016-11-15 |title='We Have a Fake Election': China Disrupts Local Campaigns |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/asia/beijing-china-local-elections.html |access-date=2021-11-05 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2021-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105023202/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/asia/beijing-china-local-elections.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=2021-01-14 |title=The West once dreamed of democracy taking root in rural China |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2021/01/14/the-west-once-dreamed-of-democracy-taking-root-in-rural-china |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105023203/https://www.economist.com/china/2021/01/14/the-west-once-dreamed-of-democracy-taking-root-in-rural-china |archive-date=2021-11-05 |access-date=2021-11-05 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref name="NYT2" /> Elections are not [[Pluralism (political theory)|pluralistic]] as no opposition is allowed.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Rory Truex, a researcher of Chinese politics at [[Princeton University]], states that "the CCP tightly controls the nomination and election processes at every level in the [[Legislative system of China|people's congress system]]...the tiered, indirect electoral mechanism in the People's Congress system ensures that deputies at the highest levels face no semblance of electoral accountability to the Chinese citizenry."<ref name=":2" />

Local people's congresses are directly elected under the control of the CCP. All higher levels of people's congresses up to the [[National People's Congress]] (NPC), the [[highest organ of state power]], are [[indirect election|indirectly elected]] by the people's congress of the level immediately below.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Citation |last=Gasper |first=Donald |title=The Chinese National People's Congress |date=1982 |work=Communist Legislatures in Comparative Perspective |pages=160–190 |editor-last=Nelson |editor-first=Daniel |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-06086-3_7 |isbn=978-1-349-06088-7 |editor2-last=White |editor2-first=Stephen}}</ref> Candidate nominations at all levels are controlled by the CCP, and CCP's supreme position is enshrined in the country's [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China|constitution]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Democracy |url=https://decodingchina.eu/democracy/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Decoding China |date=4 February 2021 |publisher=[[Heidelberg University]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816041118/https://decodingchina.eu/democracy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Electoral system==

=== Direct elections ===
People's congresses of cities that are not divided into districts ({{lang|zh|[[:zh:不设区的市|不设区的市]]}}), [[Counties of the People's Republic of China|counties]] ({{lang|zh|县}}), [[District (China)|city districts]] ({{lang|zh|市辖区}}), [[Towns of the People's Republic of China|town]]s ({{lang|zh|镇}}), [[Townships of the People's Republic of China|township]]s ({{lang|zh|乡}}), and lastly [[Ethnic townships of the People's Republic of China|ethnic townships]] ({{lang|zh|民族乡}}), are [[direct election|directly elected]].<ref name="a97">Article 97 of the [[Constitution of China]]</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Additionally, [[villages of the People's Republic of China|village]] ({{lang|zh|村}}) committee members and chairpersons are directly elected.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Niou |first=Emerson M.S. |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarychin0000unse_i4c7 |title=Contemporary China: Approaching the 21st Century, 26th Annual Sino-American Conference June, 1997 University of Maryland |date=2000-01-01 |publisher=University Press of Maryland |isbn=978-1-883053-52-9 |editor-last=McGinnis |editor-first=Rebecca |location=Bethesda, Md |language=English |chapter=An Introduction to the Electoral Systems Used in Chinese Village Elections |chapter-url=http://sites.duke.edu/niou/files/2011/06/35.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906095620/http://sites.duke.edu/niou/files/2011/06/35.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-06 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=3}}

====Local People's Congresses====
[[File:中国大陆的一个居民小区的选民名单.jpg|thumb|A list of voters posted in a neighbourhood in [[Shenzhen]], [[Guangdong]]. April 11, 2014.]]

Under the electoral law of 1 July 1979, nomination of candidates for direct local elections (in counties, townships, etc.) can be made by the CCP, the [[list of political parties in China|various other political parties]], mass organizations, or any voter [[second (parliamentary procedure)|seconded]] by at least 10 other voters.<ref name="NPC">{{cite web |title=Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses of the People's Republic of China |url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/c23934/202012/81779080873d4b268c0dbe53e0b04873.shtml |website=NPC.gov |publisher=National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China |access-date=12 January 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916100002/http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/c23934/202012/81779080873d4b268c0dbe53e0b04873.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} The final list of electoral candidates must be worked out through "discussion and consultation" or primary elections,{{sfn|Chen|1999|p=65}} which officially is conducted by an election committee in consultation with small groups of voters;<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} though the candidates are chosen by CCP officials in practice.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 10, 2016 |title=Democracy's other version: China holds elections |url=https://www.economist.com/news/china/21709975-only-way-it-likes-them-china-holds-elections |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618140149/http://www.economist.com/news/china/21709975-only-way-it-likes-them-china-holds-elections |archive-date=June 18, 2017 |access-date=August 26, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref> Election committee members are appointed by the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding level.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} The process used for competitive races is known as the "three ups and three downs" ({{lang|zh|三上三下}}, {{transliteration|zh|sān shàng sān xià}}).{{sfn|McCormick|1990|p=141}} According to the Chinese government, the "three ups and three downs" process is supposed to operate as follows:

* the election committee collates all of the nominations, checks them, and publishes the list of nominees and their basic details (first "up"). The published list is given to groups of electors, comprising the voters in each geographical or institutional electorate for discussion (first "down");
* 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 "up"). The views of different elector groups and the discussions at the committee meeting are then conveyed to voters, and their views are sought (second "down"); and
* 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 "up"). The list of names and basic details is published by electorate (third "down").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yzdb.cn/huanjie/infoshow.asp?id=74|language=zh|script-title=zh:三上三下"协商确定县乡两级人大代表正式候选人的具体做法是什么？|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123533/http://www.yzdb.cn/huanjie/infoshow.asp?id=74|archive-date=2016-03-04|trans-title=What is the specific procedure for the "three ups and three downs" method for determining through consultation the official candidates for People's Congress Representatives at the county and prefecture level?|publisher=Hebei People's Congress|date=6 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The number of candidates for a direct election should be 1.3 to 2 times the number of deputies to be elected.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Where the people's congresses above the county level elect deputies at the next higher level, the number of candidates should be 1.2 to 1.5 times the number of deputies to be elected.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Voting is done by [[secret ballot]], and voters are entitled to [[recall election]]s.{{sfn|Chen|1999|p=66}}

Eligible voters, and their electoral districts, are chosen from the [[Hukou system|family]] ({{lang|zh|户籍}}) or [[work unit]] ({{lang|zh|单位}} or {{transliteration|zh|dānwèi}}) [[civil registry|register]]s for rural and urban voters, respectively, which are then submitted to the election committees after cross-examination by electoral district leaders.{{sfn|Leung|1996|pp=109–110}}

Deputies are elected from either [[single-member districts]] or [[multi-member districts]] using a modified form of [[Multiple non-transferable vote|block]] [[combined approval voting]] in which a voter is allowed as many votes as there are seats to be filled (only one option may be selected per candidate), with the option to vote for or against a candidate, or abstain. The maximum number of deputies per district is three deputies, and each district within the same administrative region must have approximately an equal number of people.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Candidates must obtain a [[majority]] of votes to be elected. If the number of candidates to receive over 50% of the vote is more than the number of deputies to be elected, only those who have obtained the highest vote up to the number of seats available win.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} A tied vote between candidates is settled with a [[run-off election]]. If the number of deputies elected is less than the number of deputies to be elected, a run-off election is held to fill the remaining seat(s).<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} In the run-off election, the candidate(s) who receives the most votes is elected a local deputy; however, a candidate has to win at least one-third of the votes in the run-off to be elected.<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Vacancies are filled using [[by-elections]].<ref name="NPC"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}}

====Heads of Local People's Governments====
Heads of People's Governments are formally elected by the People's Congress of that level pursuant to the Organic Law on Local People's Congresses and Governments,{{sfn|Lin|2011|pp=67–69}} but the heads of township governments have been experimentally elected by the people through various mechanisms.{{sfn|Lin|2011|p=66}} There are several models used:<ref>{{cite book|title=Whither China's Democracy: Democratization in China Since the Tiananmen Incident|last=林 (Lin)|first=峰 (Feng)|editor-last=郑 (Cheng)|editor-first=宇硕(Joseph Y. S.)|editor-link=Joseph Cheng|publisher=[[City University of Hong Kong Press]]|year=2011|pages=65–99|isbn=978-962-937-181-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hc5lrfnaOzkC&pg=PA77|ref={{harvid|Lin|2011}}}} At pp. 77–87.</ref>

* direct nomination and election ({{zh|c=直推直选|p=zhi tui zhi xuan}})
* direction election ({{zh|c=直选|p=zhi xuan}})
* two ballots in three rounds ({{zh|c=三轮两票制|p=san lun liang piao zhi}})
* competition based on mass recommendation ({{zh|c=民推竞选|p=min tui jing xuan}})
* nomination and election by the masses ({{lang|zh|[[:wikt:海|海]][[:wikt:选|选]]}} or {{transliteration|zh|hǎi xuǎn}}; literally "sea election")
* public recommendation and public election ({{zh|c=公推公选|p=gong tui gong xuan}})
* vote of confidence ({{zh|c=信任投票|p=xin ren tou piao}})

====Village chiefs====
{{See also|1998 Chinese local elections}}
After taking power in 1978, [[Deng Xiaoping]] experimented with [[direct democracy]] at the local level.<ref>{{cite news |author=Phillips |first=Michelle |date=July 4, 2011 |title=Chinese independents to challenge Communists in 2012 |url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-washington-times-weekly/20110704/281672546581559 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109134756/https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-washington-times-weekly/20110704/281672546581559 |archive-date=November 9, 2017 |access-date=May 10, 2017 |work=[[The Washington Times]] |publisher=}}</ref> Villages have been traditionally the lowest level of government in China's complicated hierarchy of governance.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lei Xie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IrixxNzEG0oC&pg=PA12 |title=Environmental Activism in China |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=9781134020263 |page=12}}</ref> Under the [[Organic Law of Village Committees]], all of China's approximately 1 million villages are expected to hold competitive, direct elections for sub-governmental village committees. A 1998 revision to the law called for improvements in the nominating process and enhanced transparency in village committee administration.<ref>{{cite book |author=Joseph de Rivera |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keWf3JXYj6oC&pg=PA162 |title=Handbook on Building Cultures of Peace |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |isbn=9780387095752 |page=162}}</ref> The revised law also explicitly transferred the power to nominate candidates to villagers themselves, as opposed to village groups or CCP branches.<ref>{{cite book |author=B. He |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV6IDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Rural Democracy in China: The Role of Village Elections |publisher=Springer |year=2007 |isbn=9780230607316 |page=25}}</ref>

Many have criticized the locally elected representatives as serving as "rubber stamps", with the local CCP secretaries still holding the ultimate power, though during some eras the Communists have flirted with the idea of potentially allowing some competition.<ref name=":8" /> In the early 1980s, 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.<ref>{{cite book|year=1989|publisher=Longman|author=Gerald Segal|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYkNAQAAMAAJ|title=Political and economic encyclopaedia of the Pacific|isbn=9780582051614 }}</ref> Many of these multi-candidate elections<ref>{{cite book |author=Unger |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Unger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5FnIRGDr6gC&pg=PA218 |title=The Transformation of Rural China |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=2002 |isbn=9780765605511 |page=218}}</ref> were successful, involving candidate debates, formal platforms, and the initiation of secret ballot boxes.<ref>{{cite book|year=2011|author=Sue Vander Hook |publisher=ABDO|url=https://archive.org/details/communism0000vand|url-access=registration|title=Communism|page=[https://archive.org/details/communism0000vand/page/94 94]|isbn=9781617589478 }}</ref> Initial reforms did not include universal suffrage.<ref>{{cite book |author=de Burgh |first=Hugo |author-link=Hugo de Burgh |url=https://archive.org/details/chinesejournalis0000burg |title=The Chinese Journalist: Mediating Information in the World's Most Populous Country |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=9780203323267 |page=[https://archive.org/details/chinesejournalis0000burg/page/77 77] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Such an election comprises usually no more than 2000 voters, and the [[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post]] system is used in determining the winner,{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} with no restriction on political affiliation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-pLaBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA214|author=Andrew Sancton and Chen Zhenming|page=214|publisher=CRC Press|year=2014|title=Citizen Participation at the Local Level in China and Canada|isbn=9781482228977 }}</ref> The elections, initially held every three years<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYGvQb_GZFcC&pg=PA1|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2012|title=Participation and Empowerment at the Grassroots: Chinese Village Elections in Perspective|page=1|author=Gunter Schubert and Anna L. Ahlers|isbn=9780739174807 }}</ref> but later changed to five,<ref name=":8" /> are always supervised by a higher level of government, usually by a [[Counties of China|county]]-level government. Part of the reason for these early elections was to shift the responsibility of ensuring good performance and reduced corruption of local leaders from the Chinese bureaucracy to the local villagers.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kennedy |first=John James |title=Rural China: Reform and Resistance |date=2024-08-14 |work=Politics in China |pages=337–366 |editor-last=Joseph |editor-first=William A. |edition=4 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197683200.003.0010 |isbn=978-0-19-768320-0}}</ref>

Since 2018, the central authorities in the CCP officially called for the ''yijiantiao'' ({{lang|zh|一肩挑}}) model, in which the village committees and the CCP village committees to have the same membership, with both led by the CCP village committee secretary.<ref name=":8" /> It announced in a five-year plan in 2018 that one-third of the more than 500,000 "administrative villages" were already following this system, and called for at least half of the village leaderships to follow this system. This had led to tighter vetting of candidates, involving blocking activists and others deemed to transgress political sensitivities.<ref name=":8" />

A 2022 study conducted by the [[American Economic Association]] delved into the implementation of village elections in rural China and the eventual decline in village autonomy in later years. The researchers posited that this decline is linked to bureaucratic capability. As the administrative capacity at the village level strengthens, autocratic figures curtail the influence of elected bodies to reassert control.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martinez-Bravo |first1=Monica |last2=Padró I Miquel |first2=Gerard |last3=Qian |first3=Nancy |last4=Yao |first4=Yang |date=2022-09-01 |title=The Rise and Fall of Local Elections in China |journal=[[American Economic Review]] |language=en |publisher=[[American Economic Association]] |volume=112 |issue=9 |pages=2921–2958 |doi=10.1257/aer.20181249 |issn=0002-8282 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Indirect elections===
People's Congresses of [[provinces of China|provinces]] ({{lang|zh|省}}), [[Direct-administered municipalities of China|directly administered municipalities]] ({{lang|zh|直辖市}}), and cities divided into districts ({{lang|zh|[[:zh:设区的市|设区的市]]}}) are [[indirect election|indirectly elected]] by the People's Congress of the level immediately below.<ref name="a97"/>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Governors, mayors, and heads of counties, districts, townships and towns are elected by the respective local People's Congresses.<ref name="a101">Article 101 of the [[Constitution of China]]</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}} Presidents of people's courts and the regional prosecutors general of people's procuratorates are elected by the respective local People's Congresses above the county level.<ref name="a101" />{{Primary source inline|date=June 2023}}

====Local People's Governments====
The Local People's Congress at each administrative level—other than the village level in rural areas, which hold direct elections—elects candidates for executive positions at that level of government and the Chairmen/Chairwomen of their regional People's Congress Standing Committees.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

====National People's Congress====
The [[National People's Congress]] (NPC) has 2,977 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 of China|autonomous regions]], [[Direct-administered municipalities of China|municipalities]] directly under the Central Government, as well as by electoral college in the [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative regions]] of [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], and by the armed forces which function as [[at-large]] [[electoral district]]s.<ref name="NPCelections">{{cite web |title=Allocation of the Number of Deputies |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/27743.htm |access-date=6 May 2021 |website=[[China Internet Information Center]] |publisher= |archive-date=12 August 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020812174344/http://www.china.org.cn/english/27743.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=November 2024}} Generally, seats are [[apportionment (politics)|apportioned]] to each electoral district in proportion to their population, though the system for apportioning seats for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the [[People's Liberation Army]] differ.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ji |first1=Bian |date=6 March 2011 |title=China's National People's Congress System: A Brief Introduction |url=https://www.chinausfocus.com/society-culture/chinas-national-peoples-congress-system-a-brief-introduction |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506205759/https://www.chinausfocus.com/society-culture/chinas-national-peoples-congress-system-a-brief-introduction |archive-date=6 May 2021 |access-date=6 May 2021 |website=China US Focus |publisher=[[China-United States Exchange Foundation]]}}</ref> No electoral district may be apportioned fewer than 15 seats in the NPC.<ref name="NPCelections"/>{{Non-primary source needed|date=November 2024}}

The NPC elects and appoints the following personnel:{{sfn|Lin|2011|pp=68–69}}

* [[President of China|President of the People's Republic of China]]
* [[Vice President of China|Vice President of the People's Republic of China]]
* [[Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)|Chairperson of the Central Military Commission]] (PRC)
* Director of the [[National Supervisory Commission]]
* [[President of the Supreme People's Court]]
* [[Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate]]

The NPC also appoints the [[Premier of China|premier of the State Council]] based on the president's nomination, other members of the State Council based on the premier's nomination, and other members of the Central Military Commission based on the CMC chair's nomination.{{sfn|Lin|2011|pp=68–69}}

== Party control ==
Elections in China occur under a political system controlled by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP),<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Landry |first1=Pierre F. |last2=Davis |first2=Deborah |last3=Wang |first3=Shiru |date=2010-06-01 |title=Elections in Rural China: Competition Without Parties |journal=[[Comparative Political Studies]] |language=en |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=763–790 |doi=10.1177/0010414009359392 |issn=0010-4140 |s2cid=43175132}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Manion |first=Melanie |date=2017-03-01 |title="Good Types" in Authoritarian Elections: The Selectoral Connection in Chinese Local Congresses |journal=[[Comparative Political Studies]] |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=362–394 |doi=10.1177/0010414014537027 |issn=0010-4140 |s2cid=155166131}}</ref> with all candidate nominations preapproved by the CCP.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Hernández" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Truex |first=Rory |title=Making Autocracy Work: Representation and Responsiveness in Modern China |date=2016-10-28 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-107-17243-2 |pages=52, 111 |language=en |doi=10.1017/CBO9781316771785 |oclc=964291909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Jeremy L. |date=2016 |title=Juking the Stats? Authoritarian Information Problems in China |journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]] |language=en |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=11–29 |doi=10.1017/S0007123414000106 |issn=0007-1234 |s2cid=154275103 |doi-access=free}}</ref> CCP regulations require members of the People's Congresses, People's Governments, and People's Courts to implement CCP recommendations (including nominations).<ref name="Lin72">{{harvnb|Lin|2011|pp=72–76}}. "Regulations on the Selection and Appointment Work of Cadres of Both CPC and Government Organs".</ref> Elected leaders remain subordinate to the corresponding CCP secretary, and most are appointed by higher-level party organizations.<ref name="Lin72" />

There are a small number of independent candidates for people's congress, particularly in neighborhoods of major cities, who sometimes campaign using [[Microblogging in China|Weibo]].<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last=LaFraniere |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon LaFraniere |date=October 31, 2011 |title=In China, Political Outsiders Turn to Microblog Campaigns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/world/asia/political-outsiders-turn-to-microblog-campaigns-in-china.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101142606/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/world/asia/political-outsiders-turn-to-microblog-campaigns-in-china.html |archive-date=November 1, 2011 |access-date=November 1, 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |quote=an election that is ostensibly open to all comers, but in fact is stacked in favor of the Communist Party's handpicked candidates.}}</ref> Independent candidates are strongly discouraged and face government intervention in their campaigns.<ref name="NYT2">{{Cite news |last=LaFraniere |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon LaFraniere |date=2011-12-04 |title=Alarmed by Independent Candidates, Chinese Authorities Crack Down |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/world/asia/china-clamps-down-on-even-a-by-the-book-campaign.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423202332/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/world/asia/china-clamps-down-on-even-a-by-the-book-campaign.html |archive-date=2023-04-23 |access-date=2023-04-24 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In practice, the power of parties other than the CCP is eliminated.<ref name="NYT" /> Because none of the minor parties have independent bases of support and rely on CCP approval for appointment to positions of power, none have true political power independent of the CCP. Whereas there are CCP committees in people's congresses at all levels, none of the other parties operate any form of party [[parliamentary group]]s.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==Legislation==
The first electoral law was passed in March 1953, and the second on 1 July 1979.{{sfn|Chen|1999|p=65}} The 1979 law allowed for ordinary voters to nominate candidates, unlike the 1953 law which provided no such mechanism.{{sfn|Chen|1999|p=65}} The 1979 law was revised in 1982, removing the reference to the ability of political parties, mass organizations, and voters to use "various forms of publicity", and instead instructing that the "election committees should introduce the candidates to the voters; the political parties, mass organizations, and voters who recommend the candidates can introduce them at group meetings of the voters".{{sfn|Chen|1999|p=69}} In 1986, the election law was amended to disallow primary elections.{{sfn|McCormick|1990|p=142}}

Traditionally, village chiefs were appointed by the township government.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|page=3}} The Organic Law of Village Committees was enacted in 1987 and implemented in 1988, allowing for direct election of village chiefs instead.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|pages=4–5}} The 2020 revisions to the electoral law mandated that all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP.<ref name=":6" />

== International rankings ==
China is the 3rd least electorally democratic country in the world and second least [[democracy in Asia|electoral democratic country in Asia]] according to 2023 [[V-Dem Democracy indices]].<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last= |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |archive-date=8 December 2022 |access-date=14 October 2023 |website=[[V-Dem Institute]]}}</ref> [[Freedom House]] rates the People's Republic of China as 0 out of 4 for freedom of the electoral process.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-28 |title=China: Freedom in the world |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718034536/https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2024 |archive-date=2024-07-18 |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=[[Freedom House]]}}</ref>

==Criticism==
The performed elections in China do not meet [[free and fair election]] criteria such as [[Nomination rules|ballot access]] and political media access.<ref name="BishopHoeffler">{{cite journal |last1=Bishop |first1=Sylvia |last2=Hoeffler |first2=Anke |date=2016 |title=Free and fair elections: A new database |journal=[[Journal of Peace Research]] |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=608–616 |doi=10.1177/0022343316642508 |s2cid=110571606}}</ref> Freedom of political speech and freedom of political assembly are all severely restricted by the government.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=China: Freedom on the Net 2022 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-net/2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123114002/https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-net/2022 |archive-date=2023-01-23 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=[[Freedom House]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Citation |last= |title=China: Events of 2020 |date=2021-01-13 |work= |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/china-and-tibet |access-date=2022-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729034121/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/china |archive-date=2024-07-29 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |language=en}}</ref> The general Chinese public has virtually no say on how the top leaders of the country are elected.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last1=Gan |first1=Nectar |last2=George |first2=Steve |date=2021-12-08 |title=China claims its authoritarian one-party system is a democracy -- and one that works better than the US |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/08/china/china-us-democracy-summit-mic-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607142504/https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/08/china/china-us-democracy-summit-mic-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-date=2022-06-07 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":11" /> [[Censorship in China|Political censorship]] is widespread and [[Protest and dissent in China|political dissent]] is harshly punished in the country.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last1=Bradsher |first1=Keith |author-link=Keith Bradsher |last2=Myers |first2=Steven Lee |date=2021-12-07 |title=Ahead of Biden's Democracy Summit, China Says: We're Also a Democracy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/world/asia/china-biden-democracy-summit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215211244/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/world/asia/china-biden-democracy-summit.html |archive-date=2022-12-15 |access-date=2022-12-16 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Politics}}
* [[Legislative system of China]]
* [[List of voting results of the National People's Congress]]
* [[Politics of China]]
* [[Yao Lifa]]
* [[Human rights in China]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Library resources box}}{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=Restructuring Political Power in China: Alliances and Opposition, 1978–1998 |first=An |last=Chen |chapter=Two Systems for Electing People's Deputies |doi=10.1515/9781685851927-006 |year=1999 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/restructuringpol0000chen/page/63 63]–96 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |isbn=978-1-555-87842-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/restructuringpol0000chen |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalreformi0000mcco |title=Political Reform in Post-Mao China: Democracy and Bureaucracy in a Leninist State |first=Barrett L. |last=McCormick |chapter=Elections to Local People's Congresses |doi=10.2307/jj.13083394 |jstor=jj.13083394 |year=1990 |pages=130–156 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-06765-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4rtHLhppJgC&pg=PA141}}
* {{cite book |title=Economic and Social Development in South China |first=Kwan-kwok |last=Leung |chapter=The Basic-Level Elections in Guangzhou Since 1979 |doi=10.4337/9781782542889.00013 |editor1-first=Stewart |editor1-last=Macpherson |editor2-first=Joseph Y.S |editor2-last=Cheng |pages=107– |year=1996 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-858-98301-1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ny0FT_qjYSkC&pg=PA109}}
* {{cite book |last=Truex |first=Rory |title=Making Autocracy Work: Representation and Responsiveness in Modern China |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=9781107172432 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781316771785}}
{{refend}}

{{Chinese elections}}
{{Asia topic|Elections in}}
{{China topics |state = autocollapse }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elections In China}}
[[Category:Elections in China| ]]