(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-21 10:36

"I felt the pressure but I was pretty confident." Wang Hanchun tells of his recent promotion after being elected by 90 of his fellow government officials for the first time in his career.

Wang was named vice chairman of the Development and Reform Commission, a powerful economic planning agency, of eastern Jiangsu province after two rounds of voting.

"I experienced a set of real democratic procedures. And almost everyone consented to the result," said 44-year-old Wang, who previously headed the investment section of the commission.

The cadre system in the country entered a stage of reforms in 2002 when more and more local governments began to adopt polls in the selection of senior officials to avoid corruption and oversight.

Analysts say the way that the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) sets the standards and procedures and lets the officials join the selection will "greatly broaden the CPC's eyesight in the selection and appointment of leading cadres".

In the past, Wang would only have needed to pass a review by officials with the cadre administration departments to be promoted.

Now, Wang has to first go through a round of voting by 60 people who worked in his commission and then a questionnaire survey among 30 others. He finally won the post after a second round of voting by the standing committee of the CPC Jiangsu committee.

"To add to the procedures of opinion polls is just to extend democracy and the number of participants in selection of senior cadres," said Ji Ming, an official with the organization department of the CPC Jiangsu committee.

"The method can also prompt leading cadres to pay attention to public opinions and feelings," he said.

Opinion polls were widely carried out for the first time in reelections of the CPC committees at province, city, county and township levels, ahead of the five-yearly CPC national congress in mid-October.

"The number of representatives was 2,000 or above for each poll on county CPC leaderships," said Zhang Dali, director of the Organization Department of the CPC committee of Yancheng city in Jiangsu.

"If a party chief of a county passes the reviewing of the superior organization department but fails in the poll results, he still will not be promoted," Zhang said. "Rather, he or she will face demotion in case of  poor poll results."

In Jiangsu, the party leaders of five out of its 56 cities and counties were removed from their posts due to poor poll results in the reelections, according to Hong Man, a research fellow with the Jiangsu organization department.

"To solicit public opinions for senior cadre candidates is a significant step forward on the political democracy road," said Xu Yaotong, a professor of politics at the National School of Administration in Beijing.

"The move adds to real democratic elements and makes the selection and promotion of senior cadres more open and transparent," said the scholar.

But the wide use of opinion polls still needs the improvement of relevant systems, such as the transparency of administrative affairs according to Xu.

"Only when the public are well informed of the administrative behavior of cadres, can they make proper judgement and supervision be effective," the professor added.