1948 Chinese presidential election

The 1948 Chinese presidential election was held on April 20, 1948 at the National Assembly House in Nanking. The election was conducted by the National Assembly to elect the President and Vice President of China. This is the first election under the newly adopted 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China.

1948 Chinese presidential election
April 20, 1948
All 3,045 votes of the National Assembly
1,523 votes needed to win
 
Nominee Chiang Kai-shek Ju Zheng
Party Kuomintang Kuomintang
Electoral vote 2,430 269
Percentage 90.03% 9.97%
President before election

Chiang Kai-shek
(as Chairman of Nationalist government)
Kuomintang

 Elected President

Chiang Kai-shek
Kuomintang

This indirect elections were held during the Chinese Civil War. Chiang Kai-shek, the incumbent leader of the Nationalist government, won a landslide victory against the same party candidate Ju Zheng in the presidential election. However, Sun Fo, Chiang's preferred Vice-Presidential candidate, was defeated by General Li Zongren in the vice-presidential elections.

Chiang and Li inaugurated at the Presidential Palace in Nanking on May 20, 1948. This also marked the transition of Nationalist government to the constitutional government.

Overview
See also: Political Consultative Assembly and Chinese Civil War
Delegates voting in the election.

After the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government acquired control of a unified China nominally. The party began to draft a constitution to transit the government from tutelage period to constitutional period, according to the political philosophy of Sun Yat-sen.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, China established a close partnership with the United States and was given military and financial supports. George Marshall was appointed ambassador to Chongqing, the wartime capital, as to broker a negotiation between the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and Communist Party after the war. Two parties agreed to rebuild the country with democratization and military nationalization.

Simultaneously, the Nationalist government continued to draft the Constitution of the Republic of China, however it was boycotted by the Communists and the full-scale Chinese Civil War was resumed.

Electors
Main articles: National Assembly (Republic of China) and 1947 Chinese National Assembly election

The election was conducted by the National Assembly in its meeting place National Assembly House in Nanking. There were 2,961 delegates elected during the 1947 Chinese National Assembly election for the 3,045 seats. In total, there were 2,859 delegates reported to the secretariat to attend this first session of the first National Assembly.[1]

The election regulations has a 50% requirement for the President and Vice President to be elected. Since there were 3,045 seats in the National Assembly, the candidates shall get 1,523 votes to be elected. This requirement can be relieved if no candidate passed this threshold in the first three rounds of vote.

Vote summary

Presidential election
Election results of the presidential election.
CandidatePartyVotes%
Chiang Kai-shekKuomintang2,43090.03
Ju ZhengKuomintang2699.97
Total2,699100.00
Valid votes2,69998.72
Invalid/blank votes351.28
Total votes2,734100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,04589.79
Source: Schafferer[2]

Vice-presidential elections
Election results of the 4th round Vice-president election.
Inaugural address by President Chiang Kai-shek.
PartyCandidate1st round2nd round3rd round4th round
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
KuomintangLi Zongren 75427.30%1,16342.69% 1,15642.64%1,43852.62%
KuomintangSun Fo 55920.24%94534.69% 1,04038.36%1,29547.38%
KuomintangCheng Qian 52218.90%61622.61% 51519.00%
KuomintangYu Youren 49317.85%
NonpartisanMo Teh-hui 2187.89%
China Democratic Socialist PartyXu Fulin 2167.82%
Total 2,762100.00%2,724100% 2,711100%2,733100%

Vice President Candidates

Previous and next elections

There were some regime changes in China during the first half of the 20th century. Depending on the definition, possible previous and next elections for the leader of China are listed below.

OrderElectionPolitical entityTitle (term)Electoral college
Previous 1923 Chinese presidential election Republic of China (1912–1949) President the Republic of China (3rd)National Assembly (1st, Beiyang government)
1943 Chinese chairmanship election Republic of China (1912–1949) Chairman of the Nationalist government (4th)Central Committee of Kuomintang
Next 1949 Chinese chairmanship election People's Republic of China Chairman of the Central People's GovernmentChinese People's Political Consultative Conference
1954 Taiwanese presidential election Republic of China (on Taiwan) President the Republic of China (2nd)National Assembly (1st, Constitutional government)

See also

References
  1. 第一屆國民大會第一次會議實錄
  2. Christian Schafferer (2003) The Power of the Ballot Box: Political Development and Election Campaigning in Taiwan
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