CPC flagship newspaper warns against fraud in 19th national congress delegate election

BEIJING -- The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), will run a commentary Friday warning against fraud during the ongoing election of delegates to the Party's 19th National Congress.

Party cadres should learn lessons from the election fraud cases in Liaoning province, Hengyang in Hunan province, and Nanchong in Sichuan province, according to the commentary seen by Xinhua Thursday.

The election should feature a strong emphasis on discipline and rules, with a zero-tolerance attitude adopted against any breaches, and increased penalties for each violation, it said.

Leading officials should be held responsible for bad electoral ethics, ineffective investigation into violations, and cases having a disastrous impact, the commentary said.

The CPC has lowered the quota of delegates taken from leading CPC officials. As a result an increasing number of officials will not get the chance to be nominated, while some will be nominated but fail the election, it said.

Intensified ideological and political work should be carried out to educate and guide officials to respect the election results, prioritize the Party and the people's interests, and encourage them to work well, the commentary said.

Election procedures and standards should be strictly observed to ensure excellent, politically sound Party members are elected, it said.

The 19th CPC National Congress, a major event in the political life of the Party and the state, will be held in Beijing in the second half of 2017. A total of 2,300 delegates will be elected by 40 electoral units across the country.