Out to regain his other post as village head, he spends 5m yuan buying votes
A village Communist Party secretary sacked for bribery in a party poll is alleged to have spent up to 5 million yuan buying votes to win back his other position as head of the Hebei village.
Wang Jiyi, 55, lost his party post last August for trying to buy the votes of party members to win another term as secretary. Undeterred, he immediately began campaigning for last month's village head election in Shangxiang, and openly solicited votes by offering 1,200 villagers 5,000 yuan each - 3,000 yuan as a down payment and the other 2,000 yuan once they had voted for him, according to China Central Television (CCTV).
CCTV said the average annual income in the village was about 3,000 yuan.
Quoting villagers, CCTV said Mr Wang's money had come from the profits of village-owned and -operated businesses, including a dolomite mine and a construction firm, which earned up to four million yuan a year. How he managed to get access to the money after being sacked as village chief was not explained in the report. And why he spent so much money to regain his position was not explained either.
Mao Shoulong, professor of public policy at People's University in Beijing, said: 'For Wang, the rank of village head was obviously worth more than the six million yuan [he was prepared to spend], while the villagers who took the money must think the 5,000 yuan was worth their votes.'
Efforts to contact Mr Wang yesterday failed, but two villagers who spoke to the South China Morning Post said it was a 'bribed election'.