Elections in China

Elections in the People's Republic of China occur under a one-party authoritarian political system controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[1][2] Direct elections, except in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, occur only at the local level people's congresses and village committees, with all candidate nominations preapproved by the CCP.[4] Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, elections have been highly constrained by the CCP's monopoly on power, limitations on free speech, and party control over nominations.[8][9] 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 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.[13][non-primary source needed] The final list of electoral candidates must be worked out through "discussion and consultation" or primary elections,[14] which officially is conducted by an election committee in consultation with small groups of voters;[13][non-primary source needed] though the candidates are chosen by CCP officials in practice.A 1998 revision to the law called for improvements in the nominating process and enhanced transparency in village committee administration.[27] Many of these multi-candidate elections[28] were successful, involving candidate debates, formal platforms, and the initiation of secret ballot boxes.[30] Such an election comprises usually no more than 2000 voters, and the first-past-the-post system is used in determining the winner,[citation needed] with no restriction on political affiliation.As the administrative capacity at the village level strengthens, autocratic figures curtail the influence of elected bodies to reassert control.[11][non-primary source needed] Governors, mayors, and heads of counties, districts, townships and towns are elected by the respective local People's Congresses.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, as well as by electoral college in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and by the armed forces which function as at-large electoral districts.