The delegates, representing 66 million CPC members in the country, was elected from among party members in provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, departments and institutions under the CPC Central Committee, departments and institutions under the State Council and the People's Liberation Army.

Of the total, those joining the party after the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 have taken a lion's share of 97.5 percent in the delegates and 63.1 percent of them are at the age of 55 years old or younger, indicating the party's vitality.

Meanwhile, 91.7 percent of the delegates have college degrees or above. Officials at various levels account for 75.7 percent of the total. Females account for 18 percent and those from ethnic minorities account for 10.8 percent.

In September 2001, The 6th Plenum of the 15th CPC Central Committee passed the proposal of convening the party's 16th National Congress in the second half of 2002. In October 2001, the Central Committee of the party released a notice, defining clearly the division of the electoral units, the makeup and the number of delegates, the qualifications of the candidates and the procedures of the election.

The delegates were elected from multi-candidates through secret ballot. All the recommendation, nomination and election were carried out under the principle of centralism on the basis of democracy. To ensure the quality of the nominees, the electoral units also took various measures to make a thorough investigation under the supervision of masses.

Statistics show that 98 percent of CPC organizations at the grass-roots level and 93 percent of CPC members took part in the election.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2002)