In China 192 local officials have been punished or sacked for
taking bribes in vote-buying and other election scandals during
ongoing nationwide elections.
The Organization Department of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee said in a circular released on Wednesday
that it had investigated 121 cases of election irregularities. This
had led to the appointments of 613 people being corrected, said the
circular.
Elections of local party committees, heads of local people's
congresses, local government and advisory bodies were held in 2006
and continue this year.
The Party department said the CPC Central Committee attached
great importance to the elections and had ordered officials to be
strictly disciplined to ensure a transparent, clean and fair
election process.
Teams of inspectors have been sent out across the country to
supervise local elections. Some provinces have opened telephone
hotlines and websites to invite the public to report corruption and
malpractice.
The department said the elections were going well in general and
the majority of officials and cadres were highly disciplined. The
few officials who did violate rules had a negative impact on the
elections, said the circular.
In September last year, Tian Zhongli, former deputy secretary of
CPC Changchun municipal committee, was arrested for taking bribes
during a local Party election.
Tian, who managed personnel, took US$137,000 from eight
lower-level officials between last June and July. The eight
officials were later fired and several were put under judicial
investigation.
The Organization Department said the ongoing elections were a
test of Party principles and of the discipline of Party members and
officials. It added that local party committees and organization
departments should tighten supervision of the elections, prevent
unlawful behavior and severely punish those who violate the rules
and disciplines.
By last December, 14 of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities on the Chinese mainland had completed local Party
leadership elections.
(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2007)