Nineteen of China's provincial-level regions have completed their elections for lawmakers at the county and township levels, according to a statement from the top legislature's standing committee on Tuesday.

The Standing Committee of National People's Congress said in the statement that of those 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, 11 had finished both the elections and the first session of people's congresses by the end of 2011.

Seven provincial-level regions have begun their elections, and another five regions will finish their elections this year, according to the statement.

More than 2 million lawmakers at the county and township levels will be elected during the quinquennial nationwide elections in over 2,000 counties and 30,000 townships, and more than 900 million people are expected to vote.

In those 19 regions which had finished the elections, an average of over 90 percent of those qualified registered for voting, the statement said.

The statement made particular note of measures taken in response to the 2010 amendment to the Electoral Law which highlighted equalizing the representation ratio between urban and rural populations and a new requirement on candidates' exposure to the public.

The migrant population's right to be elected has been ensured by loosened restrictions on candidates' household registration, it said.

Local election authorities organized face-to-face communications between candidates and voters. In south China's Guangdong province, candidates were required to introduce themselves, advocate their political views and take questions from audiences.

The percentage of workers, farmers and women elected as deputies has risen, and the amount of deputies who are returned overseas Chinese or from ethnic minorities also reached the legal requirements, the statement said.

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