The Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) unanimously “elected” communist dictator Xi Jinping to a third term as president, as well as head of the nation’s military, on Friday, an entirely expected result as Xi had no competition for the title.
A totalitarian regime, China does not allow the public any say in who its national leaders are. Instead, Communist Party elite handpick lawmakers, local and provincial-level officials, and those among their own ranks. Xi’s total control of the Chinese government was cemented in last October’s Communist Party Congress, a convention occurring every five years in which the Party, the only political party in the country with any authority, chooses the members of its elite Politburo and its chairman – a title Xi handily walked away with. The new Politburo chosen in October was full of longtime Xi loyalists and members of advanced age – the youngest member being 60 years old – preventing the rise of any potential challengers or successors to the dictator.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday that Xi was elected “unanimously” as the nation’s president, meaning none of the nearly 3,000 members of the NPC lawmaking body dared defy him.
As the South China Morning Post recalled, Xi was similarly unanimously “elected” to the presidency in 2018. “President” is one of the weaker titles that Xi controls, as he is also the Communist Party chairman and head of the armed forces, among other political roles.
