China's top legislature on Tuesday confirmed the disqualification of 45 deputies from Liaoning Province for electoral fraud.
A National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee session on Tuesday voted to unseat the 45 NPC deputies, who were elected from the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, for vote buying and bribery during the 2013 election.
Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the meeting.
A report by the NPC credentials committee said it believes that acts by the 45 deputies violated electoral law and thus their election should be nullified by the NPC Standing Committee.
The report was given by Ma Wen, head of the NPC credentials committee.
Lawmakers also voted to adopt a decision to set up a preparatory panel to prepare for a new session of the Liaoning provincial legislature.
A total of 523 deputies to the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress were implicated in the election fraud and have now either resigned or had their qualification as deputies terminated.
Given that among the 62 members of the Standing Committee of the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, 38 have been disqualified and cease to serve in the standing committee, the standing committee is now unable to convene to perform its duties.
Unprecedented since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the situation warrants a creative institutional arrangement in accordance with the constitution and relevant laws.
The preparatory panel will be formed to exercise some of the standing committee's functions and powers.
Lawmakers at Tuesday's session agreed that the arrangement is "necessary and feasible" and that it respects the spirit of the constitution and principles of the law.
The purpose of Tuesday's session is to "implement decisions of the Communist Party of China Central Committee regarding electoral fraud in Liaoning, and fulfill the duties of the NPC Standing Committee," according to a previous NPC Standing Committee chairpersons' meeting.
The NPC Standing Committee usually convenes every two months, but can be provisionally convened when there is a particular demand.
