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Lin Zulian has been reelected head of a new village committee in Wukan after thousands of residents cast their votes on Monday, despite torrential rains and corruption scandals.
Sun Hanmin, general supervisor of the election announced at 9 p.m. that Lin was elected as the chief of the committee with 5,019 votes.
Another ballot will be held on Tuesday afternoon to elect six other members of the committee, as no candidate had won half of the votes in Monday's election.
A total of 8,160 ballot papers were claimed at the polling station on Monday, out of an electorates of more than 9,000.
Wukan was thrown into the international spotlight in 2011 when residents protested for months against the village committee's illegal land grabs, corruption, violations of financing and election rules.
A re-election, hailed as a national tryout of self-governance and a promotion of the spirit of democracy and the rule of law, was held in March 2012, appointing Lin Zulian as the head of a new village committee.
However, that did not put an end to the turbulence in Wukan. In April2012, several former officials from the village were expelled from the Communist Party of China over corruption and election-rigging charges.
March of this year saw another local corruption scandal. Yang Semao and Hong Ruichao, who were chosen as deputy chiefs of the village committee in the re-election, were detained by police over allegations that they took bribes concerning public projects in the village.
Over the past two years, more than 5,000 mu (330 hectares) of land determined to have been illegally transferred, allotted, or left idle has been returned to the village. Governments at the provincial and city levels have earmarked tens of millions of yuan for improving villagers' livelihood.
Monday's vote found villagers hopeful about democratic prospects. Huang Yongqing, who works in Shenzhen City some 400 km away, said he came all the way back to cast his vote.
"Only through electing an unselfish leadership can the village step on the right track of development," he said.
Sun Hanliang, supervisor of the election and also a committee member elected in the 2012 re-election, said this round aims at "clearing the old and building the new."
According to Sun, the first and foremost task of the new leadership is to meet the demand of villagers on retrieving land, and to promote the overall development of the village, while "the unity of the leadership is also of great importance."
A rerun of the election, a national tryout of self-governance, democracy and the rule of law, was held in March 2012, and Lin Zulian was elected chief of the committee.
However, March of this year saw more corruption scandals. Yang Semao and Hong Ruichao, deputy chiefs of the village committee, were detained by police over allegations that they took bribes for public projects in the village.
