Is it legal for villagers not to participate in the general election of village committees?

As the primary link of villagers' autonomy, the general election of village committees directly affects the implementation effect of rural grassroots democracy and villagers' autonomy. Today, what is the situation of rural grass-roots democracy and villagers' autonomy?

In view of this, the Survey and Consultation Center of China Rural Research Institute of Central China Normal University conducted a questionnaire survey on village committee election in 26 villages in 3/kloc-0 provinces.

Villagers in XiaZhang Cun, Linhai City, Zhejiang Province are collecting votes to participate in the general election of village committees.

The election work was fruitful.

Standardization of election methods.

In 26 1 valid sample, 98.08% of the village committees were elected by villagers, and the village committees were appointed by villages and towns, accounting for only 1.92%. Investigating the election methods adopted by the village committees, among the 254 valid samples, 64.96% of the village committees adopt "election after recommending candidates", the proportion of villages adopting "sea election" is 3 1.89%, and the sum of "election" and "sea election" reaches 96.85%. It can be seen that the general elections in most villages are very standardized at present.

The election process is organized.

In the sample of 259 valid villages, 245 villages set up election committees during the general election of village committees, accounting for 94.60%. Investigation on the establishment of election committees in villages with different income levels shows that in low-income, middle-low-income, middle-high-income and high-income villages, the proportion of election committees in the general election is 94.00%, 92.20%, 94.20%, 94.30% and 98.00% respectively, showing a tortuous upward trend. With the improvement of the village income level, an election committee was established during the general election.

The election result is valid.

Among the 237 valid village samples, 66.67% of the villages have a voter turnout rate above 80%, and 29. 1 1% have a voter turnout rate between 50% and 80%. According to the provisions of the organic law of village committees, the general election of village committees is 95.78% valid, and the proportion of invalid elections is only 4.22%.

Three major problems at present

The endogenous motivation for villagers to participate in the general election is insufficient.

Investigating the main difficulties faced by the general election of village committees, among the 258 effective village samples in China, the proportion of villages that reflect that "villagers think that elections have nothing to do with their own interests and passive elections" are the most important factors is 2 1.58%, with the highest proportion; "The villagers' awareness of voting rights is not strong enough, and their participation is low" ranks second, accounting for 18.88%.

These two factors both reflect "insufficient motivation for villagers to participate", accounting for 40.46% of the total. The proportion of "many clans and factions make it easy to manipulate elections" is only 6.83%, and the proportion of "too much government administrative intervention leads to weak election autonomy" is the lowest, accounting for only 1.98%.

It can be seen that the election of village committees in China has long been free from administrative intervention, and the influence of clan factions on the election has been greatly reduced. The lack of motivation for villagers to participate in the general election has become the biggest dilemma, and the imperfect election organization is an important factor leading to the lack of villagers' participation.

The setting of voting points and proxy voting are not standardized.

The irregular election procedure is reflected in two points. First, mobile ballot boxes are generally set up. According to the election rules of villagers' committees, mobile ballot boxes can be set up at election meetings, but the use of mobile ballot boxes should be strictly controlled. Among the 253 valid samples, the number of villages with mobile ballot boxes is 16 1, accounting for 63.63%, which is obviously more.

Second, oral proxy voting is popular. According to the "Regulations on the Election of Villagers' Committees", it can be seen that the written entrustment procedures should be handled when voting by proxy. Among the valid samples of 162, 69 samples were entrusted orally, accounting for more than 40%. The direct cause of this situation is that the election procedure is not standardized.

Insufficient supervision of election results and election files.

The lack of supervision is mainly manifested in the lack of supervision over the public singing of votes, the announcement of election results on the spot and the establishment of election files after voting.

Among the 258 valid samples in China, 96.5 1% of the villages announced the election results on the spot; 2.3% of the villages did not establish election files after the general election of village committees.

It can be seen that a few villages did not hold elections in accordance with the statutory requirements for the general election of village committees, and there were many irregular details in the election process.

Solve the worry of village Committee election

Standardize election procedures and implement election rules.

The first is to set up a reasonable voting point. Strengthen the management of fixed ballot boxes and mobile ballot boxes. On the one hand, set up fixed voting points reasonably, ensure that each village has at least one fixed ballot box, install electronic cameras, and arrange special personnel to manage the fixed ballot box. On the other hand, strictly control the number of mobile ballot boxes and minimize the use of mobile ballot boxes.

The second is to strictly regulate the proxy voting behavior. Make clear provisions on the object, scope, number and procedures of agency investment, and abide by the provisions that no agency investment can be made without a written power of attorney, and the number of agents should not exceed three. For migrant workers, a reasonable system should be formulated to guarantee their right to vote and be elected.

Multi-party coordination and assistance to strengthen election supervision.

First, the government urged the implementation of the election procedure. The township government should supervise the election in the whole process and in all directions, such as strengthening the supervision of proxy voting and ballot boxes, urging village committees to establish standardized election files, and urging villagers to implement the right to know and supervise.

The second is to ensure the channels for villagers to supervise the election. Publicize the election in advance, disclose the list of candidates and personal information in time, so that villagers can supervise the whole election process on the basis of fully understanding the information of candidates.

The third is to strengthen social supervision. Invite the media or social organizations and rural researchers to participate in the general election of village committees, and supervise the election, voting, counting and singing to ensure that the election process is proper and the election results are open and fair.

Strengthen publicity and encouragement to promote villagers' participation.

First, set up a temporary propaganda organization to guide the villagers to participate, and write jingles and cartoons in a form that the villagers like to see and hear, so as to improve the villagers' sense of participation and ownership.

The second is the combination of publicity and training. Through door-to-door publicity and explanation in the yard, the villagers' understanding of the specific issues of the general election will be increased, the villagers' ability to participate in the election will be enhanced, and the villagers' active participation in the election will be promoted.

Third, during the election period, the villagers who participated in the election were given subsidies slightly higher than the local daily wages to relieve the worries of the villagers who participated in the election.