(CCTV)
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, was elected President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission (CMC) Thursday.
The following is a brief introduction to the process of the election of the national President and Vice President.
According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top law-making body, has the power to elect and force the resignation of the national President and the Vice President.
The election of national President and Vice President is a single-candidate election.
By law, the national President and Vice President must be Chinese citizens of 45 years of age or older with the rights to vote and stand for election.
Prior to the opening of the NPC meeting, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee drafts a name-list of leaders for recommendation.
Once it is considered and adopted by the plenary session of the CPC Congress, it is handed in to the Presidium of the NPC.
The Presidium of the NPC nominates the candidates for the top leadership and introduces the candidates.
The nominees are then examined and considered by the NPC deputies.
Later, the Presidium officially confirms the candidacy of the nominees over a plurality.
The following secret vote from all deputies decides who will become the President and Vice President. The secret vote takes place in the cleared hall, deputies can either fill in the ballot at their own seat or at a secret writing spot.
Once the voting process ends, the chief scrutineer announces the results and the executive chairman of the NPC announces the validity of the election.
The candidates who win more than half of the votes will become President and Vice President.
If the deputy is against the candidate shown on the ballot, he or she can vote for another person.
The President and the Vice President cannot serve for over two successive terms, a term being the equivalent of one tenure of the NPC, which is five years.
Also, all the authorities and works of the President and Vice President must be done under the order of the NPC and its Standing Committee.
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