The process of electing delegates to the 18th National Party Congress started in October 2011 and reached a conclusion in July this year, according to the deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Delegates to CPC's 17th National Congress. [File photo]

A total of 2,270 delegates, 50 more than were elected to the 17th congress five years ago, have been elected by 40 electoral units throughout China, according to an official statement. Now the spotlight turns on exactly how the delegates are elected.

The election process is a five-part procedure: Nomination of candidates, qualification checks, public notification of candidates, short listing and final voting.

The structure of the delegates

The 2,270 elected delegates for 2012 represent more than 82 million CPC members while only 13 delegates representing more than 50 Party members participated in the first CPC National Congress in 1921, according to official statistics. Delegate numbers have increased at a much slower rate than party membership.

Wang Guixiu, a professor from the Central Party School commented that along with the increasing number of delegates, it is also important to take into account both conference expenses and the promotion of the Party's internal democracy.

The 40 electoral units include 31 provinces, including autonomous regions and municipalities, and organs directly under the Authority of the CPC Central Committee, China's State organs, China Taiwanese Association, PLA, Chinese Armed Police Forces, the Central Financial System, the State-owned Enterprises System(in Beijing), the Work Committee of Hong Kong Affairs and the Work Committee of Macao Affairs.

Quotas must then be distributed among the 40 units, which is a complicated task. The number of the CPC members in an electoral unit is an important factor in deciding the candidate quota. In order to ensure that representatives are a true reflection of society, the numbers of women delegates, migrant worker delegates and delegates from ethnic minorities also increased.

According to established practices, the CPC Central Committee will also invite a number of retired senior Party members to act as specially-invited congress delegates.

An increase in the number of grassroots representatives is also a more recent trend. The number of Party members involved in the production and work frontline increased this year, said the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. Of the delegates elected, 1,578 are the leading Party members, accounting for 69.5 percent of the total, marking a 2.1 percent drop on the figure for the 17th National Party Congress; 692 are from the frontline of production and work, accounting for 30.5 percent, also a 2.1 percent fall on the figure for the 17th National Party Congress. Of the elected delegates of various provinces, including autonomous regions and municipalities, 34.4 percent are from the production and work frontline, signaling a rise of 2.6 percent on the figure for the 17th National Party Congress.

There has also been a recent increase in the number of entrepreneurs appearing on the delegates' list since seven entrepreneurs attended during the 16th National Party Congress. According to analysts, the trend is an indication that the central government is warming to private enterprises, which in turn is beneficial for enterprises' development.