A report prepared by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee has said that it expects over 900 million Chinese voters to elect more than 2.5 million lawmakers in county or township-level elections later this year.
Describing it as a major political event for the country, senior legislator Zhang Dejiang said the elections would further develop China's socialist form of democracy.
Under China's current electoral Law, deputies to people's congresses at the level of townships and counties, who account for more than 90 percent of lawmakers at all levels nationwide, are elected directly by voters, reports the Xinhua news agency.
They in turn elect deputies to people's congresses of cities who then elect deputies at the provincial level. The NPC deputies are elected by people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.