The ongoing primary elections of delegates to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have been proceeding in a smooth and democratic way, according to CPC officials.

The Party's 18th National Congress will be held in the second half of 2012 in Beijing, and a total of 2,270 delegates across the country will be finally elected to attend the national congress, 50 more than the 17th congress.

The delegates are required to be outstanding members of the party with advanced political qualities and have close ties with grassroots society, according to the CPC central committee.

According to a circular promulgated by the CPC central committee in October 2011, the Organization Department of the CPC central committee has urged all Party units to carry out democratic nominations with "strong responsibility and precise manners."

The CPC currently has more than 80 million Party members with 3.89 million grassroot units, an increase of about 10 million members since the 17th congress which was held in 2007.

The CPC central committee stipulated that in centrally-administered enterprises and enterprises at provincial level, Party cadres should take no more than 68 percent of the delegates and members working at the forefront of production should be no less than 32 percent.

A key target of the elections is to increase the ratio of workers, including migrant workers.

In addition, more measures have been taken to publicize democracy to encourage broader voter participation.

In remote Jiangcheng county, close to the southwest border, 24 groups of Party members have been dispatched to the villages in the county to publicize the nomination and solicit opinions in order to ensure the participation of all Party members.

Petro China Daqing Oil Field, one of China's leading oil companies, extended the election to 156 overseas branches via letters, Internet, text messages and phone calls, realizing 100 percent participation rate.

In Kunshan city in eastern Jiangsu province, 586 floating Party members have participated in the primary election of delegates.

In Tibet autonomous region, delegates' behaviors on principle issues are regarded as key elements -- including safeguarding national unity and fighting against the Dalai Lama group.

The primary candidates will be shortlisted in the next step.