Wukan residents vote for new village leadership

Infographic: Wukan in change by Xinhua News Agency

Wukan, a small fishing village in Guangdong province, held a direct election on Monday for new village leadership in the wake of the one held in 2012.

Despite morning downpours, the polling for the village election began at a local school at 9 am and ended at 3 pm.

"We've prepared the election strictly in light of national laws and stipulations concerning Guangdong province to ensure transparency and fairness in the entire polling process," said Sun Hanmin, director of the village's election committee.

The new leadership, or village committee, will consist of seven members, including one director and two deputy directors, elected by 9,150 villagers.

Wukan attracted global attention in 2011 when villagers rallied for over four months in protest of allegations against the then-village head of a financing violation, land grabs and corruption.

The rallies ended following an agreement made during face-to-face talks with a senior Guangdong official to hold a direct election in 2012.

Yang Semao, the current deputy director of the village committee, who was detained earlier in March for allegedly taking bribes and was released on bail on the same day, worked as a poll teller during Monday's election.

Yang told China Daily that about 40 villagers are vying for a position in the new leadership and he himself was aiming for the role of director of the new committee.

"I'm confident that most of the eligible villagers will come to the polls today."

He explained that he had either donated the bribes to the local school in the name of an anonymous donor or returned them, adding that the move will probably help him to win out.

Cai Zhou, a middle-aged villager, said many residents are hopeful of the elections but remain wary of a new leadership.

"Some incumbent officials, though directly voted in by us, have not performed up to our expectations as corruption is still an issue," said Cai.

"At the same time, we are worried that the new leaders will also let us down in terms of leading a clean administration and their ability to protect our interests," he added.

Cai attributed the concern to the illegal sale of a 400-hectare plot of land by former officials before 2011.

About half of the land has been given back to the village for collective development, according to Yang.