Xi Jinping unanimously elected Chinese president, PRC CMC chairman

Xi Jinping is unanimously elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi Jinping was elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC at the ongoing first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday morning.

Thunderous applause broke out across the Great Hall of the People when the results of the elections were announced.

Zhao Leji was elected chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and Han Zheng was elected vice president of the PRC.

The third meeting of the first session of the 14th NPC was held at the Great Hall of the People at 9 am.

Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Han Zheng, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, among others, attended the meeting.

2,952 out of 2,977 deputies were present at the meeting with 25 absent, which made a quorum.

The meeting was presided over by Li Ganjie, the meeting's executive chairperson and executive chairperson of the presidium of the first session of the 14th NPC. Seated at the rostrum were the meeting's executive chairpersons Wang Junzheng, Wang Menghui, Xu Qin, Shen Xiaoming, Zhou Zuyi, Zheng Jianmin, Liang Yanshun, Yu Yunlin, and Lan Fo'an.

The meeting approved by vote the decision of the first session of the 14th NPC on the plan to reform the State Council's institutions.

As required at the meeting, the State Council shall adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and by elaborate arrangements and meticulous organization, ensure the accomplishment of the tasks of reforming its institutions.

Methods for election and decision on appointments for the first session of the 14th NPC were adopted by vote at the meeting.

Deputies adopted by vote a list of scrutineers consisting of 35 deputies. Shi Xiaolin and Lin Hong were the chief scrutineers.

At 9:27 am, the elections officially began. The scrutineers first inspected the 28 electronic ballot boxes and electronic voting systems installed at the venue. Then, ballots were distributed. Four ballots in different colors were given to each deputy. Ballots are printed in standard written Chinese language and written languages of seven ethnic minority groups.

Subsequently, deputies began to fill in the ballots. There was a private office for filling in ballots in the back area of the venue.

In accordance with the methods for election and decision on appointments, the president of the PRC, chairman of the CMC of the PRC, chairman, vice-chairpersons, and secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC, and vice-president of the PRC are elected through single-candidate elections.

At 9:51 am, the chief scrutineers and other scrutineers cast ballots at first, before deputies started casting their ballots. After the voting, the chief scrutineers announced how many ballots were issued and collected, saying that the ballots were valid.