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IT is a chilly winter morning in lichang Village of Zuoquan county, in the northern province of shanxi,when song Xianglin’s big day begins. If everything goes according to plan, he will be voted in for a third term as chair of his village committee. Although the position is not an official government one in real sense, song treats it seriously and with pride.
Over the past decade, grassroots politics have swept across the chinese countryside. Villagers voting in committee elections are building a foundation for china’s democratization.
Casting ballots
Around 9:30 a.m., people begin gathering in front of lichang villagers’ committee building, summoned by a high-pitched loudspeaker. election rules echo through this small rural community. People chat and giggle, waiting for their biggest event of the year.
lichang Village, led by song, is small but in an area that boasts abundant mining resources. Of its 389 residents, 306 meet voting age requirements. The villagers’ committee is made up of three members – one chair and two vice chairs – with elections held every three years. There is no limit on the number of terms a person can be re-elected.
This year, four people are running for the three spots. Their campaign speeches were made 10 days earlier. Today’s vote is being overseen by a seven-member village election committee (also elected by the villagers), and a man appears in front of the crowd explaining how to fill out a ballot. A box plastered with red paper – an auspicious symbol – is on display. Its bottom is sealed in view of the villagers.
when the election officially begins, people cheerfully flood into the hall to register to vote. Once registered, they get their ballots and head upstairs to cast their ballots.
Only one person at a time may enter the voting area on the second floor. exiting the room, they place their ballots in the red box sealed earlier. It will take hours for the results to be posted. Voters are allowed to challenge the final outcome.
In china, a large village may have more than 10,000 residents, while smaller ones only have several hundred. There are over 600,000 village committees managing the country’s rural areas.
while they rank at the bottom of china’s governing hierarchy, villagers’ committees are self-managed mass organizations. such committees generally oversee all the administrative matters of a village, including budget management, public utilities and dispute resolution. Public safety, social order and security, health issues and local business management also fall under the purview of a villagers’ committee.
Farmers living in rural china may not have a profound understanding of the word“democracy,” but they are at the forefront of china’s democratization.
Evaluating candidates
when song first took office in 2006, people thought he was too young for his position. elders traditionally have acted as leaders, but song at the time was just 30 years old.
even now at 35, he still looks more like a young man than a leader, but his efforts in the past years have been acknowledged in lichang. he now holds a university degree in agricultural management, and in this current election he is running unopposed.
According to the rules, voters can still vote for a candidate who hasn’t claimed him- or herself as such. This means there is always a possibility of an unexpected competitor. But song seems to have victory close at hand.
“There were some people who wanted to run for the position,” he smiled shyly, “but they all gave up after they learned about villagers’ strong support for me.”
however, things are tougher for the chair of hanwang Village, located near lichang. A competitor has come forward, promising to build a coal washing plant that will provide employment to laid-off workers in hanwang. It’s a tempting platform.
Rural democracy has its own characteristics and rhythm, and few chairs end up serving longer than one term.
“working as a leader, you cannot avoid offending people,” posited song. “Farmers embrace democracy, but they still have limited understanding. sometimes they won’t vote for you just because they don’t like you personally.” For song, helping his fellow villagers understand electoral responsibility is important.
Zhao Dongqing, a member of lichang’s election committee, feels the situation is reflective of the reality on the ground. “Farmers focus on their personal benefit,” he explained.“They value deeds more than words.”
According to Zhao, villagers evaluate candidates over what they see in daily life. It’s widely believed that a candidate is qualified to handle village matters only if he or she has handled their own affairs well.
song mostly agreed with Zhao. “But,” he said, “I think honesty weighs more.”
Progress
Direct elections of villagers’ committees have been underway since the 1980s.
In 1987, a provisional Organic law of Villagers’ committees was passed, which established the general principles for direct elections to villagers’ committees and defined the duties and responsibilities of the managing bodies. Ten years later, the National People’s congress, china’s top legislature,made the law permanent.
Over the last decade, election processes have improved and basic norms of a democratic process – secret ballots, direct elections and multiple candidates – have taken hold. In addition, it is possible for candidates to be nominated directly by individual villagers, rather than by a higher-level government or Party organization (which was the practice in the past).
shi weimin, a researcher at the Institute of Political science, chinese Academy of social sciences, described the allowance as an outcome of progress.“During the 30 years since china’s reform and opening up, villagers’ committee elections have experienced the fastest and most fruitful development. It created a form of no pre-election nomination.”
These days, local elections are expected.“Villagers cared little at the very beginning,” said Zhao, “but now the importance has been attached.” Zhao also pointed out that more women are starting to get involved in the rural political scene.
Village elections have also caught international attention, but most importantly they are teaching hundreds of millions of chinese citizens about their rights and responsibilities.
“It’s a necessary education,” said shi.
For many experts and scholars, assessing china’s village electoral processes is tied to assessing the country overall.
“An important effect of the village elections is that it may push for direct elections at a higher level,” said Xiao lihui, a professor at the central Party school, describing their potential.
Over the past decade, grassroots politics have swept across the chinese countryside. Villagers voting in committee elections are building a foundation for china’s democratization.
Casting ballots
Around 9:30 a.m., people begin gathering in front of lichang villagers’ committee building, summoned by a high-pitched loudspeaker. election rules echo through this small rural community. People chat and giggle, waiting for their biggest event of the year.
lichang Village, led by song, is small but in an area that boasts abundant mining resources. Of its 389 residents, 306 meet voting age requirements. The villagers’ committee is made up of three members – one chair and two vice chairs – with elections held every three years. There is no limit on the number of terms a person can be re-elected.
This year, four people are running for the three spots. Their campaign speeches were made 10 days earlier. Today’s vote is being overseen by a seven-member village election committee (also elected by the villagers), and a man appears in front of the crowd explaining how to fill out a ballot. A box plastered with red paper – an auspicious symbol – is on display. Its bottom is sealed in view of the villagers.
when the election officially begins, people cheerfully flood into the hall to register to vote. Once registered, they get their ballots and head upstairs to cast their ballots.
Only one person at a time may enter the voting area on the second floor. exiting the room, they place their ballots in the red box sealed earlier. It will take hours for the results to be posted. Voters are allowed to challenge the final outcome.
In china, a large village may have more than 10,000 residents, while smaller ones only have several hundred. There are over 600,000 village committees managing the country’s rural areas.
while they rank at the bottom of china’s governing hierarchy, villagers’ committees are self-managed mass organizations. such committees generally oversee all the administrative matters of a village, including budget management, public utilities and dispute resolution. Public safety, social order and security, health issues and local business management also fall under the purview of a villagers’ committee.
Farmers living in rural china may not have a profound understanding of the word“democracy,” but they are at the forefront of china’s democratization.
Evaluating candidates
when song first took office in 2006, people thought he was too young for his position. elders traditionally have acted as leaders, but song at the time was just 30 years old.
even now at 35, he still looks more like a young man than a leader, but his efforts in the past years have been acknowledged in lichang. he now holds a university degree in agricultural management, and in this current election he is running unopposed.
According to the rules, voters can still vote for a candidate who hasn’t claimed him- or herself as such. This means there is always a possibility of an unexpected competitor. But song seems to have victory close at hand.
“There were some people who wanted to run for the position,” he smiled shyly, “but they all gave up after they learned about villagers’ strong support for me.”
however, things are tougher for the chair of hanwang Village, located near lichang. A competitor has come forward, promising to build a coal washing plant that will provide employment to laid-off workers in hanwang. It’s a tempting platform.
Rural democracy has its own characteristics and rhythm, and few chairs end up serving longer than one term.
“working as a leader, you cannot avoid offending people,” posited song. “Farmers embrace democracy, but they still have limited understanding. sometimes they won’t vote for you just because they don’t like you personally.” For song, helping his fellow villagers understand electoral responsibility is important.
Zhao Dongqing, a member of lichang’s election committee, feels the situation is reflective of the reality on the ground. “Farmers focus on their personal benefit,” he explained.“They value deeds more than words.”
According to Zhao, villagers evaluate candidates over what they see in daily life. It’s widely believed that a candidate is qualified to handle village matters only if he or she has handled their own affairs well.
song mostly agreed with Zhao. “But,” he said, “I think honesty weighs more.”
Progress
Direct elections of villagers’ committees have been underway since the 1980s.
In 1987, a provisional Organic law of Villagers’ committees was passed, which established the general principles for direct elections to villagers’ committees and defined the duties and responsibilities of the managing bodies. Ten years later, the National People’s congress, china’s top legislature,made the law permanent.
Over the last decade, election processes have improved and basic norms of a democratic process – secret ballots, direct elections and multiple candidates – have taken hold. In addition, it is possible for candidates to be nominated directly by individual villagers, rather than by a higher-level government or Party organization (which was the practice in the past).
shi weimin, a researcher at the Institute of Political science, chinese Academy of social sciences, described the allowance as an outcome of progress.“During the 30 years since china’s reform and opening up, villagers’ committee elections have experienced the fastest and most fruitful development. It created a form of no pre-election nomination.”
These days, local elections are expected.“Villagers cared little at the very beginning,” said Zhao, “but now the importance has been attached.” Zhao also pointed out that more women are starting to get involved in the rural political scene.
Village elections have also caught international attention, but most importantly they are teaching hundreds of millions of chinese citizens about their rights and responsibilities.
“It’s a necessary education,” said shi.
For many experts and scholars, assessing china’s village electoral processes is tied to assessing the country overall.
“An important effect of the village elections is that it may push for direct elections at a higher level,” said Xiao lihui, a professor at the central Party school, describing their potential.