Building Democratic Infrastructure: village electoral institutions

Abstract

Village elections are presently at a crossroad: processes and rules still must be improved and further delays will only undermine the credibility of village elections. This paper adopts a historical perspective and an institutional approach to argue that reform of village electoral institutions is still a top priority in rural political development. It argues for the creation of a national electoral commission tasked with implementing, supervising, and adjudicating village elections. It then discusses the rationale for initiating candidate-initiated and candidate-centered elections and proposes altering campaigning as well as the ‘two majority’ rule. Last but not least, I advocate the synchronization of election dates. A fixed election date, at the provincial level if not nationally, would enhance the importance of elections, attract more media coverage, and foster civic culture.

Notes

^*Qingshan Tan is professor of political science at Cleveland State University. He has authored a book entitled Village Elections in China: Democratizing the Countryside (New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006) and many articles on political development in Taiwan and China

^1. Kevin J. O'Brien and Rongbin Han, ‘Path to democracy? Assessing village elections in China’, Journal of Contemporary China 18(60), (June 2009).

^2. An earlier version of this article was presented at the international conference on Villagers' Self-Government and the Building of a New Socialist Countryside: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the PRC Organic Law of Village Committees, Huazhong Normal University, Wuhan, China, 16–17 June 2007.

^3. This priority does not preclude the importance of traditional social networks such as clans in contributing to rural political development during this long transition. See Gunter Schubert, ‘Studying “democratic” governance in contemporary China: looking at the village is not enough’, Journal of Contemporary China 18(60), (June 2009).

^4. On formal institutionalization of democratic decision-making, management and supervision in village affairs, see Björn Alpermann, ‘Institutionalizing village governance in China’, Journal of Contemporary China 18(60), (June 2009).

^5. For a detailed account of the MoCA's relationship with local officials, see Qingshan Tan, Village Elections in China: Democratizing the Countryside (New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006), ch. 4.

^6. One explanation for the role played by officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs is that they employed an incremental approach that focused on implementation first and quality later. See Tianjian Shi, ‘Village committee elections in China: institutionalist tactics for democracy’, World Politics 51(3), (April 1999), pp. 385–412.

^7. For an insightful study of MoCA officials' motives, career paths, and networking, see Long Yonxing, Making Democracy Work: The Crafting and Manipulation of Chinese Village Democracy by Political Elites, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, National University of Singapore, 2004.

^8. Wang Zhenyao et al., eds, Zhongguo Cunmin Zizhi Qianyan [The Frontier of Chinese Village Self-Governance] (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui chubanshe, 2000), pp. 90–97.

^9. Lin Pingshun, ‘Haixuan is an institutional innovation’, People's Daily, (23 June 2004). See also, ‘Villagers haixuan chiefs’, available at: http://www.chinainnovations.org/showNews.html?id = 3d5389ae85d711dcbc4d11ffd792b910.

^10. Author's observation in Dongfeng County, Jilin, 13 March 1998.

^11. For a detailed description of the model, see Xin Qiushui, ‘“Jingxuan zugezhi” de shijian yu lilun—Cunweihui minzhu xuanju moshi de zhongda chuangxin’ [‘“The practice and theory” of a combined election system of village committees—an innovative model of democratic election of village committees’], Xueshujie [Academics in China] 5, (2001), pp. 45–54.

^12. Author's interview with Xin Qiushui, Hefei, Anhui, 11 August 2003.

^13. Zhang Chunsheng, Wenhua fuping yu cunmin zizhi [Cultural Alleviation of Poverty and Village Self-Government], a document titled ‘A Combined Election System of Village Committees’, internal publication, Hefei, Anhui, 15 January 2001, p. 13.

^14. Bai Gang and Zhao Shouxing, Xuanju Yu Zhili [Election and Governing] (Beijing: Zhongguo shehuikexue chubanshe, 2001), pp. 170–172.

^15. Former Anhui Party Secretary Lu Rongjing coauthored the proposal. See, Zeng Jianhua, ‘“Combined election system of village committees” is better than haixuan’, (26 March 2005), available at: http://www.chinaelections.org/NewsInfo.asp?NewsID = 10459.

^16. In this case, candidate information, often a simple biography, was either posted or broadcast on radio and closed-circuit television a few days before the election.

^17. For a description of a candidate's election speech, see, Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999), pp. 60–61.

^18. For a list of emerging election issues, see O'Brien and Han, ‘Path to democracy?’, footnote 47.

^19. In my interviews, local officials often equated campaign with luan (chaos); some referred to campaigning as a ‘political show’.

^20. Minzhengbu jiceng zhengquan he shequ jianshesi [Ministry of Civil Affairs, Department of Basic-Level Government and Community Construction], Zhonghua renmin gongheguo cunmin weiyuanhui xuanju guicheng [Handbook of Villagers' Committee Election of People's Republic of China] (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui chubanshe, 2001), p. 74.

^21. Excepting the Anhui election method, which specifically allows candidates to campaign provided they apply and accept the supervision of village election committees. Minzhengbu jiceng zhengquan he shequ jianshesi nongcunchu [Ministry of Civil Affairs, Rural Division of Department of Basic-Level Government and Community Construction], Gesheng, zizhiqu, zhixiashi cunweihui xuanju banfa huibian [Compilation of Village Committee Election Methods of Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and National Cities] (Beijing: An internal publication, 2002), p. 59.

^22. Baogang He and Youxing Lang, Xunzhao Minzhu Yu Quanwei De Pingheng: Zhejiang Cunmin Xuanju Jingyan Yanjiu [Seeking a Balance between Democracy and Authoritarianism: A Study of Villagers' Election Experience in Zhejiang] (Wuhan: Huazhong shifan daxue chubanshe, 2002), pp. 270–278.

^23. See Qingshan Tan, ‘Building a village electoral institution: issues and policy recommendation’, paper presented at the international conference on Village Self-government in China: Past, Present and Future, Ministry of Civil Affairs and European Union, Beijing, China, 5–7 April 2006, pp. 413–414.

^24. For two well-publicized campaigns, see Zhongguo Qingnian Bao [Youth Daily], (15 January 2003 and 15 August 2001).

^25. Li Xueju, Zhongguo chengxiang jiceng zhengquan jianshe gongzuo yanjiu [Research on the Construction of Basic-Level Governance in Urban and Rural China] (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui chubanshe, 1994), p. 90.

^26. Voters can write in candidates. In some villages I observed, voters split their votes among several write-in and formal candidates. At the end of the day, no candidate could win a clear majority of votes. As a member of a Carter Center Delegation, I observed village elections in Fujian, Hebei, Hunan, Jilin, and Liaoning in 1997 and 1998. Last-minute write-in candidacies spoiled some elections as leading candidates fell just short of the 50% needed to win.

^27. See, He Xiaohong, ‘Cunmin zizhi yu nongmingong de zhengzhi canyu’ [‘Village self-government and political participation of rural migrant workers’], paper presented at the international conference on Villagers' Self-Government and the Building of a New Socialist Countryside: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the PRC Organic Law of Village Committees.

^28. Author's interview with civil affairs officials in Inner Mongolia and Henan, August 2003 and July 2004. See also, Tan, Village Elections in China, ch. 6.

^29. In my interviews, the majority of the interviewees agreed and expressed a desire for a plurality system.

^30. Author's interview with civil affairs officials in Inner Mogolia and Henan, August 2003 and July 2004.

^31. For a selection of provincial, county, and township election rules and methods see Mingzhengbu Jicengzhengquan Jianshesi, Zhonghua renmin gongheguo cunming weiyuanhui xuanju gongzuo fanli [People's Republic of China Village Committee Election Implementation Cases] (Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Chubanshe, 1996).

^32. Research Group on the System of Rural Villagers' Self-Government in China and China Research Society of Basic-Level Governance, Study on the Election of Villagers' Committees in Rural China: Research Report on Villagers Self-Government 1993 (Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Chubanshe, 1994).

^33. This was the case in several provinces, including Fujian, Hunan, Hebei, and Jilin, where I observed village elections.

^34. In our observation of Fujian elections in March 1997, we asked about the possibility of obtaining more election results and were told that elections had just started and the province's elections would not be completed until the end of the year.

^35. I raised the election date issue with MoCA and local officials, but was told that it was impossible to have synchronized election dates since they would unduly impose burdens on farmers.

^36. Qingshan Tan, ‘Building institutional rules and procedures: village elections in China’, Policy Sciences 37(2), (2004), pp. 1–22.

^37. Scholars have argued that regular and voluntary elections provide a good avenue for the development of citizenship practices. See, Kevin J. O'Brien, ‘Villagers, elections, and citizenship in contemporary China’, Modern China 27(4), (2001), pp. 407–435.

^38. The decision by Dong Feng County in Jilin to synchronize village elections struck us as an excellent way to conduct a countywide civic education campaign using television and radio advertising during a concentrated period. The Carter Center Report, 1998.

^39. One of the recommendations made in the 1998 Carter Center report was to synchronize election dates at the country level to improve opportunities for civil education and reduce the cost.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Qingshan Tan

40 *Qingshan Tan is professor of political science at Cleveland State University. He has authored a book entitled Village Elections in China: Democratizing the Countryside (New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006) and many articles on political development in Taiwan and China