About 15,000 members of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
ascended to leading positions through open elections from 2003 to
2006, according to the Party's central organization department.
More than 390 were prefectural-level cadres and about 3,800
worked at leading positions at county level, revealed the
Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.
It showcased the Party's endeavors to build a permanent in-house
democracy mechanism, said the department.
The Party had made it compulsory to solicit ordinary members'
recommendations and opinions for selecting cadres, as numerous
experiments carried in local CPC leadership re-elections had proved
it an effective way of enhancing transparency and efficiency.
It had granted non-Party members of the public a say in the
elections, the department said.
Other methods, including door-step surveys and publication of
survey results, appraisals of work performances in probation and
secret voting by all members of local Party committees, had also
been employed and promoted in the elections for better assessment
of the candidates, it said.
Founded in 1921, the CPC has more than 70 million members and
more than 3.5 million grassroots organizations. Its regime came
into being in the past revolution era and it had for decades
followed the Soviet model.
With China's rapid economic development, the Party is facing
problems such as corruption, low efficiency and bureaucracy,
prompting measure for improvement.
Experts point out that developing democracy within the Party is
an important part of political restructuring and building of
political civilization in China.
(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2007)