Thirty-year-old Chen Guoliang was surprised when prison guards asked him to vote for the re-election of the people's congress of Qingpu district in Shanghai.

He had no idea that he was entitled to vote even in prison. He was still thinking to vote for which candidates until guards hastened him since other inmates had done their job.

Chen and his inmates were among more than 10 million Shanghai residents who voted on Tuesday during the re-election of the people's congresses at county and town levels.

The Chinese Constitution stipulates that every citizen above the age of 18 has the right to vote and to be elected unless he is deprived of the right by law. In Chen's Qingpu Prison, 723 prisoners out of the total of more than 2,700 have the right to vote and all of the 723 voted on Tuesday.

Before the prisoners started voting at 9:30 a.m., Shi Weiping, a prison official, briefed the prisoners about the candidates and read out "every elector must cherish the right to vote and vote for the people you support."

Tally clerks began the counting of votes immediately after Chen Guoliang and others voted, writing the results on a blackboard. Prisoners then put their voting certificates into pockets and left the polling station.

It was the first time for Zhang Zhihua, 42, to vote in prison. He had voted twice in the re-election of the people's congress of the district where he lived.

"I did not care about election in previous times. However, as a prisoner I found it a solemn right," he said.

Qingpu Prison has done preparations for Tuesday's voting including raising awareness among prisoners, said warden Wu Qi.

Wu said the voting of prisoners showed political democracy in China.

"They were put into prison because they broke the law. However, their legal rights are still protected," he said.

Source: Xinhua