Third, electing delegates to the Eighteenth Party Congress

The Party Central Committee issued in October last year the Circular Concerning the Election of Delegates to the Eighteenth Party Congress, specifying the establishment of electoral units, the qualifications and composition of delegates, election procedures, and the distribution of the number of delegates to be elected. During the process of recommendation, nomination and election, the 40 electoral units across the country strictly abided by the Party Constitution and gave full scope to democracy. They followed due procedures, strengthened discipline and oversight, and completed the election of delegates to the Eighteenth Party Congress in keeping with the criterion of putting integrity first, focusing on commitment to the Party's goal and selecting the best. According to statistics, 98% of Party members in basically all primary Party organizations in the electoral units took part in the election.

A total of 2,270 delegates to the Eighteenth Party Congress were elected by electoral units, and their credentials were confirmed by the Credentials Committee. As two delegates died of illness, 2,268 delegates will attend the Party congress. Representing over 82 million Party members and over four million primary Party organizations, they are exemplary in performance and broadly representative.

The composition of the elected delegates is balanced. Those from the frontline of production account for 30.5% of the total, an increase of 2.1 percentage points over the Seventeenth Party Congress. Workers take up 7.4%, up 5.1 percentage points; and women 23%, up 2.9 percentage points. Ethnic minority delegates take up 11%, representing a moderate increase over the Seventeenth Party Congress. Delegates of no more than 55 years of age account for 64.8% of the total, and those with junior college education or higher account for 93.5% of the total. Delegates who joined the Party after the introduction of the reform and opening up policy account for 72.2% of the total, forming the majority of delegates.

As an established practice, the CPC Central Committee has decided that some veteran Party members who have left leading positions will attend the congress as special delegates.