Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 The Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses is formulated in accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.

Article 2 Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities divided into districts, and autonomous prefectures shall be elected by the people's congresses at the next lower level.

Deputies to the people's congresses of cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties, autonomous counties, townships, nationality townships, and towns shall be elected directly by their constituencies.

Article 3 All citizens of the People's Republic of China who have reached the age of 18 shall have the right to vote and stand for election, regardless of ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education, property status or length of residence.

Persons who have been deprived of political rights according to law shall not have the right to vote and stand for election.

Article 4 Each voter shall have the right to vote only once in an election.

Article 5 Elections shall be conducted separately in the People's Liberation Army, and the procedures for such elections shall be formulated separately.

Article 6 Among deputies to the National People's Congress and local people's congresses at various levels, there shall be an appropriate number of women deputies, and the proportion thereof shall be raised gradually.

The National People's Congress and the local people's congresses of the areas with a relatively large number of returned overseas Chinese shall have an appropriate number of deputies who are returned overseas Chinese.

Citizens of the People's Republic of China who reside abroad but who are in China during the election of deputies to people's congresses at or below the county level may take part in such elections conducted in their ancestral home town or place of domicile before they went abroad.

Article 7 The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress shall conduct the election of deputies to the National People's Congress. The standing committees of the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities divided into districts, and autonomous prefectures shall conduct the elections of deputies to the people's congresses at the corresponding levels.

In cities divided into districts, municipal districts, counties, autonomous counties, townships, nationality townships, and towns, election committees shall be established to conduct the election of deputies to the people's congresses at the corresponding levels. The election committees of cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties and autonomous counties shall be under the leadership of the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels. The election committees of townships, nationality townships, and towns shall be under the leadership of the standing committees of the people's congresses of cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties and autonomous counties.

The standing committees of the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities divided into districts, and autonomous prefectures shall direct the work of electing deputies to the people's congresses at or below the county level in their administrative areas.

Article 8 Election funds for the National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at various levels shall be disbursed by the State Treasury.

Chapter II Number of Deputies to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels

Article 9 The number of deputies to the local people's congresses at various levels shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) The base number of deputies to the people's congress of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality directly under the Central Government is 350. For a province or an autonomous region, one more deputy may be added for every one hundred fifty thousand people, and for a municipality directly under the Central Government, one more deputy may be added for every twenty-five thousand people, however, the total number of its deputies shall not exceed 1,000.

(2) The base number of deputies to the people's congresses of a city divided into districts or an autonomous prefecture is 240. One more deputy may be determined for every twenty-five thousand people; however, if the population of the city or autonomous prefecture exceeds ten million, the total number of its deputies shall not exceed 650;

(3) The base number of deputies to the people's congresses of a county, an autonomous county, a city not divided into districts or a municipal district is 120. One more deputy may be added for every five thousand people; however, if the population there exceeds one million six hundred fifty thousand, the total number of deputies shall not exceed 450; if the population is less than fifty thousand people, the total number of deputies may be less than 120;

(4) The base number of deputies to the people's congress of a township, a nationality township or a town is 40. One more deputy may be added for every one thousand five hundred people; however, if the population of a township or a nationality township exceeds ninety thousand, the total number of its deputies shall not exceed 100; if the population of a town exceeds one hundred thirty thousand, its total number of its deputies shall not exceed 130; if the population of a township, a nationality township or a town is less than two thousand, the total number of its deputies may be less than 40.

The base number of deputies to a local people's congress plus the number of deputies added according to the size of the local population as stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be the total number of deputies to the local people's congress.

The number of deputies to the people's congresses of an autonomous region or a province where many minority nationalities live in concentrated community may, upon decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, be added by five percent. The number of deputies to the people's congress of a county, an autonomous county, a township or a nationality township where many minority nationalities live in concentrated communities or people live in scattered groups may, upon decision of the standing committee of the people's congress of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality directly under the Central Government, be added by five percent of the total.

Article 10 The specific number of deputies to the people's congress of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality directly under the Central Government shall be determined by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress according to this Law. The specific number of deputies to the people's congress of a city divided into districts, an autonomous prefecture, or a county shall be determined by the standing committee of the people's congress of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality directly under the Central Government according to this Law and reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record. The specific number of deputies to the people's congress at the township level shall be determined by the Standing Committee of the people's congress at the county level according to this Law and reported to the standing committee of the people's congress at the next higher level for the record.

Article 11 Once the total number of deputies to a local people's congress at any level is determined, it shall no longer be changed. If the size of the population is changed considerably due to the change of the division in the administrative regions or the construction of major projects or other reasons, the total number of deputies to the people's congress at the corresponding level shall be re-determined according to this Law.

Article 12 The number of deputies to the people's congresses of autonomous prefectures, counties and autonomous counties shall be allocated by the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels, in accordance with the principle that the number of people represented by each rural deputy is four times the number of people represented by each town deputy. Townships, nationality townships, and towns with exceptionally small populations shall have at least one deputy in the people's congresses of their respective counties and autonomous counties.

In the administrative areas of counties or autonomous counties which have towns with exceptionally large populations, or have enterprises and institutions not under the leadership of the people's governments at or below the county level whose workers and staff account for a relatively large portion of the county's total population, the ratio between the number of people represented by a rural deputy and the number of people represented by a town deputy or a deputy of an enterprise or institution may, upon a decision made by the standing committee of the people's congress of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, be smaller than four to one, even to the extent of one to one.

Article 13 In municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities and municipal districts, the number of people represented by a rural deputy shall be greater than the number of people represented by an urban deputy.

Article 14 The number of deputies to the people's congresses of provinces or autonomous regions shall be allocated by the standing committees of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels, in accordance with the principle that the number of people represented by each rural deputy is four times the number of people represented by each urban deputy.

Chapter III Number of Deputies to the National People's Congress

Article 15 Deputies to the National People's Congress shall be elected by the people's congresses of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and by the People's Liberation Army.

The number of deputies to the National People's Congress shall not exceed 3,000. The allocation of the number of deputies shall be decided by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in accordance with existing conditions.

The number of deputies to the National People's Congress to be elected by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region and the methods for their elections shall be prescribed separately by the National People's Congress.

Article 16 The number of deputies to the National People's Congress to be elected by the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be allocated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in accordance with the principle that the number of people represented by each rural deputy is four times the number of people represented by each urban deputy.

Article 17 The number of deputies to the National People's Congress to be elected by minority nationalities shall be allocated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in the light of the population and distribution of each minority nationality, to the people's congresses of the various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, which shall elect them accordingly. Nationalities with exceptionally small populations shall each have at least one deputy.

Chapter IV Elections Among Minority Nationalities

Article 18 In areas where minority nationalities live in concentrated communities, each minority nationality shall have its deputy or deputies sit in the local people's congress.

Where the total population of a minority nationality in such an area exceeds 30 percent of the total local population, the number of people represented by each deputy of that minority nationality shall be equal to the number of people represented by each of the other deputies to the local people's congress.

Where the total population of a minority nationality in such an area is less than 15 percent of the total local population, the number of people represented by each deputy of that minority nationality may be appropriately smaller, but shall not be less than half the number of people represented by each of the other deputies to the local people's congress. In autonomous counties where the population of the minority nationality practising regional autonomy is exceptionally small, the number of people represented by each deputy of this minority nationality may, upon a decision made by the standing committee of the people's congress of the province or autonomous region, be less than half the number of people represented by each of the other deputies. Other nationalities with exceptionally small populations living in concentrated communities shall each have at least one deputy.

Where the total population of a minority nationality in such an area accounts for not less than 15 percent and not more than 30 percent of the total local population, the number of people represented by each deputy of that minority nationality may be appropriately smaller than the number of people represented by each of the other deputies to the local people's congress, but the allocated number of deputies to be elected by that minority nationality shall not exceed 30 percent of the total number of deputies.

Article 19 In autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, and in townships, nationality townships, and towns where a certain minority nationality lives in a concentrated community, the provisions of Article 18 of this Law shall be applicable to the election to the local people's congresses of deputies of other minority nationalities and the Han nationality also living in concentrated communities in such areas.

Article 20 With respect to minority nationalities living in scattered groups, the number of people represented by each of their deputies to the local people's congresses may be less than the number of people represented by each of the other deputies to such congresses.

In autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, and in townships, nationality townships, and towns where a certain minority nationality lives in a concentrated community, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the election to the local people's congresses of deputies of other minority nationalities and the Han nationality living in scattered groups in such areas.

Article 21 In cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties, townships, nationality townships, and towns where various minority nationalities live in concentrated communities, the minority nationality electorates may vote separately or jointly in the election of deputies to the local people's congress, depending on the relations between the nationalities, and their residential situation in such areas.

In autonomous counties and in townships, nationality townships, and towns where a certain minority nationality lives in a concentrated community, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the election to the respective people's congresses of deputies of other minority nationalities and the Han nationality living in such areas.

Article 22 The electoral documents, roll of voters, voter registration cards, list of candidates for deputies, deputies' election certificates and election committee seals made or published by autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties shall be in the written languages of the nationalities commonly used in the locality.

Article 23 Other matters concerning elections among minority nationalities shall be handled with reference to the provisions of the relevant articles of this Law.

Chapter V Zoning of Electoral Districts

Article 24 The number of deputies to the people's congresses in cities not divided into districts, municipal districts, counties, autonomous counties, townships, nationality townships, and towns shall be allocated to the electoral districts, and elections shall be held in the electoral districts. The zoning of electoral districts may be decided according to the voters' residence or on the basis of production units, institutions and work units.

The zoning of electoral districts shall be decided on the basis of one to three deputies to be elected from each electoral district.

Article 25 The number of people represented by each deputy from an urban electoral district shall be generally the same. The number of people represented by each deputy from a rural electoral district shall be generally the same.