CHINA / National
Grass-roots to get more say
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-11-13 06:20
An increase in the number of delegates to the Party congress next year
will help improve the representation of grass-roots workers, an official
said Sunday.
A total of 2,220 delegates will be elected across the country to the
Party's 17th National Congress, the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) announced Sunday as it unveiled an election plan
under which more measures will be introduced to encourage broader voter
participation.
The number of delegates is 100 more than that for the previous congress
which was held in November 2002.
Elections, which have already begun, will be completed by June, it said.
"Leaders and cadres generally should not constitute more than 70 per cent
of the delegates, while those from the grass-roots level should not be
less than 30 per cent," an official with the Organization Department of
the CPC Central Committee told Xinhua News Agency.
He added that the percentage of workers, farmers and professionals
elected as delegates should be increased; and that the number of women
and those from ethnic groups should be higher than their proportion of
the total number of Party members in their electoral units.
"The delegates should also include a certain number of Party members who
come from new economic and social organizations," the official said,
referring to privately-owned enterprises.
The CPC currently has more than 70 million members, an increase of 6
million since the 16th congress; and the CPC Central Committee requires
committees at all levels to enhance inner-Party democracy and safeguard
the democratic rights of members.
Meanwhile, the Central Committee has widened voters' choice by enlisting
more candidates.
When the names of qualified nominees at county and prefecture levels are
put forward, a list of candidates will be decided upon by the local Party
congress. This is seen as an improvement over past practices when only
the standing committee of a local Party committee made the decision.
"The number of shortlisted candidates will be 15 per cent higher than the
number of delegates to be elected," the official said.
The Party's 17th National Congress will be held in the second half of
next year in Beijing. The congress normally convenes once every five
years.
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