Description of Electoral System

(courtesy of wikipedia)

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 NPC, 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.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

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Politics of China

(courtesy of wikipedia)

The Politics of the People's Republic of China (PRC) takes place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is enshrined in the PRC Constitution. State power within the PRC is exercised through the Communist Party of China, the Central People's Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically co-equal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. The will of Chinese citizens is expressed through the legislative bodies of the People's Congress system. People's Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level People's Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial (or municipal in the case of independent municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing) People's Congress. The provincial People's Congress in turn elects members to the National People's Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the next higher level.