2,987 deputies elected to NPC

BEIJING - A total of 2,987 deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, have been elected and are awaiting final confirmation, according to a Monday report.

A report on the qualifications of the new NPC deputies was submitted to the Standing Committee of the 11th NPC for confirmation during its bi-monthly session, which will run from Monday to Wednesday.

The 11th NPC Standing Committee will review the qualifications of the new deputies and announce a final list of names when the session closes on Wednesday.

Legal procedures were followed during the election and all elected deputies are qualified, said a report submitted by the credentials commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

The deputies were elected from 35 election units representing 34 Chinese regions and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from last December to January.

The biggest difference between this election and previous elections is that deputies were elected this year using the same population ratio for both rural and urban areas, said Wang Wanbin, deputy secretary general of the NPC Standing Committee, when briefing lawmakers on the election.

Before the amendment to the Electoral Law in 2010, each rural NPC deputy represented a population four times that of an urban deputy.

Generally speaking, the new deputies come from a broad variety of sectors and are widely acknowledged by the public, Wang said.

The NPC Standing Committee is also preparing for the upcoming first annual session of the 12th NPC, which is scheduled to kick off on March 5.

Lawmakers reviewed reports on the work of the NPC Standing Committee, the election of national deputies, a draft schedule and a list of names for the presidium and those who will observe the session.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session.

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