National Assembly elections were held between 21 and 23 November 1947 in China. This is the first election of under the newly ratified 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China. Under this constitution, the National Assembly is an authoritative legislature body that holds the power as constitutional convention and presidential electoral college. A total of 2,961 delegates were elected from across the country.^[1]

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Quick Facts All 3,045 seats in the National Assembly, Registered ...

1947 Chinese National Assembly election

← 1918 21–23 November 1947 1991 →
All 3,045 seats in the National Assembly
Registered	~250,000,000
Turnout	~4-8%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Chiang Kai-shek Tseng Chi Hsu Fu-lin Party Kuomintang Youth Democratic Socialist Seats won > 2,000 76 68

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Following the establishment of Republic of China, indirect elections were held in 1912 and 1918 for the National Assembly, 1931 for the Nationals Assembly (Chinese: 國民會議) and 1936 for Constitutional Assembly (Chinese: 制憲大會).

In December 1946, the Constitutional Assembly adopted the new Constitution, effective from 25 December 1947. Delegates for National Assembly shall be elected before the constitution came into effect, which would be similar to Electoral College in the United States. In April 1947, China Democratic Socialist Party and Chinese Youth Party entered the re-organised Nationalist government. The two minority parties demanded to field 238 and 288 candidates in the election, despite significantly higher than their representations in the Constitutional Assembly. They also proposed the proportional representation in the election and was rejected.^[2] John Leighton Stuart, Ambassador of the United States to China, criticised the minority of their greed for power.^[3] He later recommended postponing the election as it could endanger peace negotiation of civil war, but Chiang insisted the election as the key step for constitutional governance.^[4]

The election was held between 21 and 23 November 1947 across China. Single non-transferable vote was used as the electoral system. With an empty ballot, voters were required to write down the name of the candidates voting for. Along with underdeveloped voter identification system, large number of invalid ballots were found and fraud was widely reported.^[6][7][8]

The election received mixed reaction within China,^[9] with some praising the expansion of voting rights to women and farmers while denouncing the election as lacking other essential elements of democracy,^[10] but still general appreciation internationally.^[11] Ambassador Stuart commented that, despite the unsatisfactory conditions of the election, the election marked the start of democracy in China.^[12]

The election was organized by the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government. Elected National Assembly delegates started its first session on 29 March 1948 in Nanking. The exact number of delegates attending the meeting remained unknown due to numerous circumstances, such as deaths before or after election, declined to inaugurate, resigned after the first meeting, or disqualified for law offenses. Records showed 2,859, among 2,961 elected, reported the attendance in the opening of the National Assembly first meeting. The number of attendees increased to 2,878 when the meeting reached the end on 1 May 1948.

The inauguration of the first National Assembly marks the transition of China into constitutional governance. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government, was elected by the National Assembly delegates in the later presidential election to be the first President of the Republic of China in the constitutional government.

However, the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China lost the Chinese Civil War in the next year of 1949. This resulted the government to retreat to Taiwan. Around half of the National Assembly delegates came to Taiwan with the government. Since the government had lost control over mainland China, the delegates extended their own terms until "re-election is possible in their original electoral district." This situation remained until a Constitutional Court (Judicial Yuan) decision in June 1991 that orders the terms to terminate by the end of 1991.

The National Assembly delegates elected actually served in office from 29 March 1948 to 31 December 1991, which equals 43 years and 278 days.

• Officials were explaining the voting regulations
• A worker was casting his ballot
• Professors from Chiao Tung University were casting ballots
• Armed forces in Nanking were voting
• Voters voting in the first direct election
• Voters voting in the first direct election
• Chiang Kai-shek voted for Chen Yu-kuang, head of University of Nanking
• Party flag of Kuomintang adjacent to the portrait of founding President Sun Yat-sen was replaced by Flag of the Republic of China, marking to end of one-party rule
• Females in rural areas were granted voting rights
• Voter registration
• Yu Yu-jen, Director of the Control Yuan, was voting
• Wu Tiecheng, Secretary-general of Kuomintang, was queueing to vote, along with other Nanking voters

• Nationalist government
• Constitution of the Republic of China
• Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion
• National Assembly (Republic of China)
• 1948 Chinese legislative election