Guangdong Province Institutes Electoral Observer System for Village Elections

Guangdong officials have instituted a system of electoral observers for village elections to be held in 2005, according to a Xinhua report. Although limited in scope, the introduction of the system is an effort to ensure greater electoral fairness in local village elections.

Guangdong provincial Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) officials have chosen 2,785 observers, including students, retired officials, and local people's congress delegates, to serve as observers for the province's 2,100 village elections. The observers report on electoral fairness to both provincial MOCA authorities and township officials, but cannot directly affect electoral processes. According to the report, authorities have invalidated the results of 32 village elections as a result of observer reports. MOCA does not pay the observers, but defrays the cost of their transportation and lodging.

Township Party and government officials commonly control Chinese village elections through election leadership committees and often have a strong interest in assuring the election of subordinate village officials with whom they enjoy good relations. The Guangdong reform appears to be intended to allow provincial MOCA authorities to evaluate the fairness of village elections through channels less subject to township influence. Since provincial officials often are not interested in whether or not villagers elect a particular individual to a given village post, the reform may provide villagers a better way to obtain redress for electoral misconduct.