Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, speaks at the second plenary meeting of the 10-day session. [Xinhua]

2010年3月8日，第十一届全国人民代表大会第三次会议在人民大会堂举行第二次全体会议，听取全国人大常委会副委员长王兆国关于《中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会和地方各级人民代表大会选举法修正案（草案）》的说明，全文如下：

The following is the full text of the Explanation on the Draft Amendments to the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses of the People's Republic of China delivered by Wang Zhaoguo, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Third Session of the 11th NPC in the Great Hall of the People on March 8, 2010: 

各位代表，

Fellow Deputies,

我受全国人大常委会委托，现对《中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会和地方各级人民代表大会选举法修正案（草案）》作说明。

I have been entrusted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) to explain the Draft Amendments to the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses of the People's Republic of China.

一、修改选举法的必要性

I. Necessity of amending the Electoral Law

选举制度是人民代表大会制度的基础，选举法是保障公民依法行使选举权和被选举权，依法产生各级人大代表的重要法律。选举法最早于1953年制定，1979年重新修订，其后经过四次修改。党的十七大提出，要坚定不移地发展社会主义民主政治，扩大人民民主，保证人民当家作主，建议逐步实行城乡按相同人口比例选举人大代表。贯彻落实党的十七大的要求，有必要在深入总结选举工作实践经验的基础上，对选举法进行适当修改。

The electoral system is the foundation of the system of people's congresses. The Electoral Law is an important law which guarantees citizens the right to vote and the right to stand for election and which produces deputies to the people's congresses at all levels in accordance with the law. The Electoral Law was first enacted in 1953, revised in 1979, and it has been amended four times since then. At the Seventeenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), it was proposed that we should firmly develop socialist democratic politics, expand the people's democracy, and ensure the people are the masters of the country. It was also suggested that we should gradually achieve the goal of electing deputies to people's congresses based on the same population ratio in urban and rural areas. In order to implement the requirements put forward at the Seventeenth National Congress, it was necessary to appropriately revise the Electoral Law on the basis of a review of our practical experience of elections.

选举人大代表的城乡人口比例，是选举法中的一个重要内容。新中国成立后，1953年制定第一部选举法时，我国的城镇人口比重较低，根据当年人口普查统计，只有13.26%。考虑到我国当时工人阶级主要集中在城市的具体情况，为了体现工人阶级在国家政治生活中的领导地位和工业化发展方向，选举法对农村和城市选举每一代表所需的人口数作了不同的规定。比如，规定全国人大代表的选举，各省按每80万人选代表1人，直辖市和人口在50万以上的省辖市按每10万人选代表1人。这样规定，符合我国的政治制度和当时的实际情况，是完全必要的。1979年修订选举法时，当时的城镇人口比重也才达到18.96%，因此基本上延续了1953年的规定，对于选举人大代表的城乡不同人口比例未作大的修改，但对不同层级规定得更加明确：全国为8：1，省、自治区为5：1，自治州、县、自治县为4：1。

The ratio of urban to rural population for electing a deputy to a people's congress is an important part of the Electoral Law. After the founding of New China and when the first electoral law was enacted in 1953, the urban population in China was relatively small - only 13.26% according to the 1953 national census. Given that the working class was mainly concentrated in cities at that time, in order to reflect the leading position of the working class in national political life and the orientation toward industrial development, the Electoral Law included differing regulations on the number of people needed to elect a deputy in rural and urban areas. For instance, the regulations for electing an NPC deputy stipulated that each province could elect one deputy for every 800,000 people, and municipalities directly under the central government and cities under the jurisdiction of provincial governments with a population of more than 500,000 people could elect one deputy for every 100,000 people. Such stipulations were absolutely necessary and conformed with China's political system and the particular situation at that time. When the Electoral Law was revised in 1979, the urban population had reached 18.96%. As a result, the 1953 stipulations basically remained in place and no big changes were made with respect to electing deputies to people's congresses based on different population ratios in urban and rural areas; however, the stipulations on ratios for people's congresses at different levels were clarified: the ratio was stipulated as eight to one for the NPC, five to one for people's congresses of provinces and autonomous regions, and four to one for people's congresses of counties and for autonomous prefectures and counties.