Five Phenomena to Guard Against in Rural Two-Committee Elections

The election of rural "two committees" is a major event in rural political life, directly bearing on the building of grassroots organizations, the building of a new socialist countryside, and the overall situation of rural reform, development and stability. In the author's view, to select a strong village-level leadership team, the following five phenomena must be guarded against:

First, guard against the "wealthy-fication" of the criteria for recommending village cadres. In some places, the standard of "able person in getting rich" is overemphasized while other selection conditions are lowered, and in a few places, because there is no Party member among the "able persons in getting rich," they would rather leave the post of village Party branch secretary or village committee director vacant, leading to an increasingly obvious "wealthy-fication" of village cadres. If people who have become well-off first enter village-level organizations, and if they meet the conditions and are elected through a fair, just and open process, this should be encouraged and advocated; however, some people treat entering village-level organizations as a kind of "political investment," with the aim not of serving the people but of grasping resources and power to obtain returns of benefit. Therefore, it is suggested that Party organizations at all levels, in the election, take loyalty to the Party, the trust of the masses, capability, fairness in handling affairs and upright conduct as the prerequisites for electing village cadres.

Second, guard against interference in election work by clan and lineage forces. Owing to historical reasons, clan and lineage forces are deeply rooted in some rural areas, and this is especially prominent during the election of village-level two committees, when accumulated grievances and conflicts between different clans and lineages are concentratedly exposed in the election. Influenced by various factors such as disputes over interests, the election of village-level organizations is regarded as an arena for competition among clan and lineage forces. For this reason, it is suggested that Party organizations at all levels carry out investigation and fact-finding work as early as possible, actively resolve various conflicts and disputes, and ensure the complete success of the election. At the same time, publicity for the Election Law of the Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China and other laws and regulations should be intensified, so that people understand that disrupting or interfering with normal elections will be subject to legal sanctions.

Third, guard against canvassing for votes and electoral bribery. If supervision over village cadres is inadequate, serious corruption problems can also breed; in recent years, cases in which village cadres are investigated and involved in amounts of several million yuan or even over ten million yuan have been common. Corruption cases involving village cadres cover rural road "village-to-village" construction, town and village construction, farmland and water conservancy construction, rural power grid renovation, safe drinking water projects, biogas energy utilization, as well as fiscal construction funds for agriculture, rural areas and farmers, grain-growing subsidy funds, agricultural input subsidy funds, agricultural machinery purchase subsidy funds, agricultural insurance subsidies, policy-based bank loans, poverty alleviation and development funds, public service funds and other aspects. Precisely because there are profits to be gained, in some places village-level elections have seen phenomena such as canvassing for votes, electoral bribery and even violent interference in elections, seriously affecting the harmony and stability of rural society. Toward these unhealthy practices and corrupt phenomena, a "zero tolerance" attitude must be adopted, and they must be seriously investigated and handled, so that people understand that cadres are made through hard work, not through campaigning.

Fourth, guard against favoritism and behind-the-scenes manipulation during elections. At present, most young and middle-aged rural laborers work away from home, and those left behind at home are mostly the elderly, women and children. In election work, if publicity and mobilization, organization and leadership, and election procedures are inadequate, it is very easy for villagers working away from home to be unable to attend the election in person, resulting in a large number of proxy ballots, which gives some people who "speculate in ballot trading" an opportunity. Some election committee members, in order to save trouble, or even having accepted the "entrustment" of a small number of people, do not hand the proxy ballots of the entrusting parties to the actual entrusted persons; large numbers of proxy ballots are often concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people, leading to behind-the-scenes manipulation and directed voting, so that the final candidates do not represent the will of the broad masses of villagers.

Fifth, guard against village cadres "taking up posts while ill." Economic responsibility audits for village cadres during their term of office should be carried out well, ensuring that the audit process is open and the audit results are open, and giving a realistic evaluation of village cadres' economic responsibilities during their term of office; establish and improve supervision mechanisms, and build a "three-in-one" network system of organizational supervision, mass supervision and public opinion supervision; for cases of village cadres violating regulations or discipline reported by the masses or discovered through screening, counties and townships should set up special investigation teams, and where reported problems are verified, clues are clear and the reported persons do indeed have problems, they must be seriously handled in accordance with regulations.