Elections in Menghe
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Elections in Menghe are held every five years for delegates to the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, every two years for Village-level mayors and County-level councilmembers, and every year for delegates to the Village and County level Social Consultative Conferences. Executive officials at all other levels, from the Chairman of the Supreme Council to county heads, are appointed by a separate cadre management system and do not face democratic elections.
At each level, candidates for the election can only run if they receive the approval of the district's Elections Board, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The Menghean Socialist Party exercises tight control over these elections boards, ensuring that only candidates who are friendly to the regime may run. As such, while elections may involve a more or less fair race between two Socialist Party candidates, or between a Socialist Party candidate and another candidate from the United Front for National Restoration, candidates expressing serious opposition to the system are denied access.
The situation lightened somewhat in the 2019 election, where independent candidates were allowed to run for National Assembly seats for the first time since 1927. Stringent restrictions on media use and campaigning ensured that the UFNR retained a large majority in the legislature, but international observers rated the election as a significant step toward free democratic competition.