CPC initiates key election procedure

The process of electing delegates to the Communist Party of China's 21st National Congress has started. A total of 2,360 delegates to the congress will be elected by 38 electoral units across the country.

The Party's 21st National Congress is scheduled to be held in Beijing in the second half of 2027. According to a circular released on Saturday by the CPC Central Committee on the election of delegates, the process will run through the end of June 2027.

The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, which is responsible for detailed arrangements for the election, stressed that the election of the delegates is an important foundation for the congress, which comes at a critical time when the CPC has been working to basically realize socialist modernization and heading toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

The 21st CPC National Congress will be a highly important meeting and an event of great political significance for both the Party and the country, as a new CPC Central Committee and a new CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will be elected, an official from the department said in a statement on Sunday.

The 2,360 delegates to be elected should be outstanding Party members who carry the trust of more than 101 million CPC members and over 5.4 million Party organizations as they fulfill their duties at the congress, the official noted.

The successful election of delegates and completing all the work of the congress are vital to consolidating the Party's long-term governing position and enabling the Party to fully exercise its role as the leadership core, and they are also closely linked to the Party's and the country's lasting prosperity and stability, the statement said.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has attached great importance to carrying out sound work related to the election. While hearing multiple reports on this matter, he presided over meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, at which a circular on the election was deliberated and adopted.

On eligibility, the official said that candidates are judged first on their political stance and awareness, as well as their capacity for political judgment, thinking and implementation. Their integrity and conduct are also closely examined.

The delegates elected should be well-structured in composition and broadly representative, drawn from fields ranging from the economy, science and technology, national defense, law enforcement and the justice system to education, public communication, culture, health, sports and social administration. They should also include workers in new forms of employment.

Stressing that frontline workers must make up an appropriate proportion, the official specified that among delegates from provincial-level regions, central financial institutions and central State-owned enterprises in Beijing, Party members working on the frontline need to generally account for at least one-third. Among delegates from central Party and State departments, the proportion should generally be no less than 15 percent.

In areas where the new economy and emerging business are booming and new forms of employment are widespread, outstanding Party members from these groups should also be nominated as candidates, the official said, highlighting that particular attention needs to be paid to nominating model workers, farmers and professionals. Additionally, women Party members and Party members from ethnic minority groups should each account for a certain proportion of the delegates.

Asked how the election will be conducted, the official said it consists of five steps: nomination of candidates, assessment of nominees by electoral units, formation of a preliminary list of candidates, formation of a preparatory list of candidates, and formal election.

The delegates will be elected through a process in which the number of candidates must exceed the number of seats by more than 15 percent, the official said, adding that the delegates elected will be vetted by a qualification review committee prior to the national congress.

While calling for all units to attach great importance to the election, the official emphasized the need to strengthen oversight throughout the electoral process.

Xinhua contributed to this story.