Question

What does a candidate need before contesting elections in China?

Answer 1

Answer:

Elections to choose the National People's Congress, also known as Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui, are held in China on a regular basis every five years. The National People's Congress has the authority to choose the nation's leader. Its roughly 3,000 elected members represent every province in China. The army chooses some of the members. A candidate must have the blessing of the Chinese Communist Party before running for office. Elections held in 2002–03 were only open to individuals who are members of the Chinese Communist Party or eight minor parties affiliated with it. The Communist Party always forms the government.

How do elections work in China?

A multiple layer process exists. People cast ballots for the local people's congress, and as you go through the levels of people's congresses, you elect representatives to the National People's Congress. The representatives at each level of People's Congresses are chosen by their peers. The lowest level is the only one where regular people cast their votes for delegates. These are often low-key events with minimal campaigning and poor voter turnout since you are handed a ballot with a long list of names and you are unfamiliar with the majority of the candidates. Rarely has a dissident managed to secure their own election at the lowest level, but as they have no influence over how candidates are chosen for the next higher level, they are unable to gain any real authority. There is a ballot for the persons who are higher on the list at each layer's level. It comes out that the Communist Party generally controls the nominations and elections. However, there is a requirement that the number of nominees be 10% greater than the number of electors. As a result, the Party controls the process, although a candidate who is very unpopular may be excluded. The people's congress appoints the executive at each level. Once more, the Communist Party controls a substantial portion of the process, however there have been instances where the People's Congress declined to select the candidate who was preferred by the local party. The local party leaders have been more active in collaborating with the People's Congress members to ensure that no candidate who is very unpopular does not win office since having support of less than 100 percent is humiliating. The People's Congresses are not just rubber stamps, it should be noted. There is a list of nominees, the majority of whom will be chosen, but deciding who makes the list is an extremely difficult process. Bureaucratic interest groups, patron-client networks, and a variety of Party interest groups exist at every level, and when it comes down to negotiating who gets nominated, all of these conflicts are at play. It turns out that legislatures are fairly busy once individuals join the People's Congress since here is where the various branches of the government and party meet to discuss.