Explainer: Key points in CPC's election of delegates to major national congress

BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC), the world's largest governing party, has initiated the process to elect delegates to its 20th national congress.

The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee shed light on the significance of the election, the requirements for organizing the election, and the standards for eligible candidates. The following are some key points.

The CPC national congress is held every five years. The to-be-elected 2,300 delegates to the Party's 20th national congress, scheduled for the second half of 2022, are entrusted by more than 95 million CPC members and 4.8-million-plus Party organizations to elect a new central leadership.

A smooth election of the delegates, along with the completion of all tasks at the congress, concerns giving the full play to the role of the Party's leadership core. This concerns the prosperity and long-term stability of the Party and the country as well.

The election of delegates shall also be a process of in-depth study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Party members and officials should align their thinking with the CPC Central Committee, and focus on implementing major decisions and plans of the Central Committee, as well as on accomplishing all sorts of tasks at present.

The Party leadership attaches great importance to carrying out sound work related to the election.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, heard multiple reports on this matter and presided over meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, as well as the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, at which a circular on the election was deliberated and adopted.

The Party's leadership should be strengthened during the whole procedure of the election. Political standards must always be prioritized. The composition of delegates should be further improved. Discipline and rules must be strengthened, with enhanced supervision and punishment of vote-buying.

Some retired Party officials will be invited to attend the 20th national congress.

All delegates should be excellent Party members, and Party members from the front line should account for at least one-third of the total delegates while those at various leadership posts should not exceed two-thirds of the total.

The electoral procedure consists of five steps: nomination of candidates, investigation on nominees by electoral units, formation of a preliminary list of candidates, formation of a preparatory list of candidates, and formal election.

The elected delegates will be vetted by a qualification review committee prior to the national congress.