Direct elections of county-, township-level lawmakers underway orderly in China: official

China is currently carrying out a new round of direct elections of county- and township-level lawmakers in an orderly manner, according to a senior legislator on Wednesday.

More than one billion voters will directly elect over 2.6 million deputies to the people's congresses at the county and township levels, representing a vivid practice of whole-process people's democracy, said Song Rui, deputy secretary general of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, at a press conference.

Song noted that deputies to people's congresses at all levels serve as a bridge between the Party and the state and the people. He urged further support for the deputies in performing their duties, maintaining close contact with the people, conveying their views and concerns, and helping resolve practical problems in accordance with the law.

China's people's congress system has a multi-tiered structure, with the NPC at the top and congresses at the provincial, municipal, county and township levels. Deputies are elected at each level every five years to represent the people's interests.

Under the country's electoral law, deputies to county- and township-level people's congresses are directly elected by voters, while deputies to people's congresses above the county level are elected by deputies at the next lower level.

In the previous round of elections, which wrapped up in 2022, 2.62 million county- and township-level deputies were elected by more than one billion voters through "one person, one vote," making it one of the world's largest democratic practices.