Jiang Tingbin created history Wednesday when he became the first elected township Party secretary in an east China province with about a population of 74 million.

Guan Yihe, a leading cadre with Teyong Township Committee of Communist Party of China, told Xinhua in a telephone interview Friday that Jiang won 86 of the 104 votes in the competitive election of the Teyong Township Party Congress in the northern part of Jiangsu Province, which borders Shanghai.

China has introduced the practice of self-administration and direct elections at village levels in the past decade, and the direct election of a township secretary of the Party was launched in selected areas of the country only two years ago by the Party to expand grassroots democracy.

All the Party members in the county could apply to run, but candidates had to give a speech on their working agenda at a township meeting of Party members and only winners could become formal candidates.

Guan said Jiang and his rival were chosen from among 17 applicants recommended by 20 members of Sheyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The 17 applicants were selected as they received the most votes from the committee from an unspecified number of people vying for the post across the county, according to local officials.

Gu Jiadong, secretary of CPC Sheyang County Committee, said that though anyone could apply, delegates held the final say in nominating applicants. Secretaries of Township committees or at higher levels are usually appointed by committees at higher levels.

So far, 56 leading Party and government officials at various levels in the county have been selected through the direct election.

Last December, the Party congress of Lingshan township of Pingchang county in southwest China's Sichuan province elected its secretary through a direct election, which local Party officials described as the country's first.

Shen Baoxiang, a noted professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, called the phenomenon a "breakthrough" in the selection of Party committee secretaries and members.

The Party decided to expand inner-Party democracy to improve its leadership during its 16th National Congress held in 2002.