More women elected to sit as NPC deputies

Beijing: More women and those from grassroots sectors have been elected deputies to the 14th National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, a report said.

The report on the qualifications of the 14th NPC deputies was adopted by the NPC Standing Committee on Friday when it closed its latest session.

The report confirmed 2,977 deputies are qualified, adding that a list of the national legislators has been disclosed by the NPC Standing Committee on its website.

The newly elected deputies are broadly representative, and the elections made by 35 electoral units from mid-December to January were in line with the laws, it said.

It showed that among the nearly 3,000 deputies, 26.54 percent are women, up 1.64 percentage points over the 13th NPC.

It said 16.69 percent are workers and farmers, an increase of 0.99 percentage points; 21.3 percent are technicians, up 0.73 percentage points; and officials elected as deputies made up 32.55 percent, down 1.38 percentage points.

The elections have ensured all regions, ethnic groups and sectors have an appropriate number of deputies, which is in accordance with the Electoral Law, it said.

Under the law, deputies to the NPC and local people’s congresses should be broadly representative. They need to include a certain number of people from the grassroots level, especially workers, farmers and intellectuals, with a gradually increasing proportion of women.

The report said that the successful elections have paved the way for the upcoming first full session of the 14th NPC and also laid a strong basis for the new deputies to perform their duties.

The nearly 3,000 deputies will travel to Beijing to attend the first full session of the 14th NPC, which will kick off on March 5.

They will deliberate on reports on the country’s crucial economic and political affairs as well as draft laws with the people’s interests and social development in mind.

It added that the NPC deputies, who came from the people and represent the people’s interests, will continuously play a significant role in developing whole-process people’s democracy and promote modernization of the national system and capacity for governance.