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Dan Hough

The recent story of widespread vote-buying by Hunan legislators is certainly eye-catching. The fact that 518 of the 527 members of the Hengyang city people's congress are alleged to have accepted bribes exceeding 110 million yuan (HK$139 million) reveals a culture of corruption that has surprised even hardened China-watchers.
So pervasive does the vote-buying appear to have been that it is not unreasonable to turn this upside down; who are the nine members of the Hengyang congress who didn't take bribes? Perhaps they did but have been better at covering their tracks than most.
Or perhaps they were simply (and in this context amazingly) incorruptible and turned the bribes down - an impressive act of self-control if true.
Vote-buying is not, however, restricted to China or to developing countries more broadly. The manipulation of elections happens in more places than many perhaps realise; Britain, for example, had a vote-rigging scandal in Birmingham in 2005, while there are ongoing concerns about malpractice in the country's system of postal voting.
The relationship between money, power and electoral outcomes in the US also makes many uneasy about the influence rich benefactors can have on politics. Buying votes to influence power is illegal just about everywhere, but it is more widespread than is perhaps thought.
Given that, what can we learn from the Hunan episode? Political scientists would draw two conclusions from it.
Firstly, it is easy to believe that a more open competition for the position of provincial delegates will be a good way to curb vote-buying. It might be. But that is in no way certain. The stakes are high in any electoral competition - whether it is in small-scale local elections, within regional legislatures such as that in Hunan, or national-level competitions in post-colonial states in Africa or elsewhere.
Win, and you make progress in your career. You gain a position that might not actually give you much direct power (as is the case with the coveted positions in Hunan), but you can use it as a tool to show that you're well connected and in the know. You can also, on occasion, shape the rules under which the next election will take place.
Lose, and you are likely to be nowhere. A look at the sorry state of many elections across Africa provides ample evidence of that.
Secondly, expect money to become more and not less of a problem. In states where transparency levels are relatively low (such as China) and where the lines of accountability are often vague (such as China), there are many grey areas where money and other favours can change hands.
Transparency is often said to be the best disinfectant against corruption, but it is not a disinfectant that everyone wants to see being applied too liberally.
While provincial delegates in other parts of China will no doubt be worried about where the anti-corruption drive is heading next, the incentives for vote-buying and striking power deals will remain for at least the foreseeable future. Too many have too much to lose by changing the system now.
Finally, and most interestingly, the investigations in Hengyang in particular and in Hunan more broadly will almost certainly not have come from the Hunan authorities themselves. Beijing will have had plenty to do with this, and it will have chosen Hunan for a reason.
It may well be that these investigations are meant to send out a clear message - clean up your act. But it may also be the precursor to broader reforms. That there will be further action is a reasonably safe bet.
It's not just provincial delegates in Hunan who will be sleeping a little more uneasily tonight.
Professor Dan Hough is director of the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, UK


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Opinion

Dan Hough says vote-buying won't stop, however, if stakes remain high


The recent story of widespread vote-buying by Hunan legislators is certainly eye-catching. The fact that 518 of the 527 members of the Hengyang city people's congress are alleged to have accepted bribes exceeding 110 million yuan (HK$139 million) reveals a culture of corruption that has surprised even hardened China-watchers.


Hunan bribery crackdown signals more heads will roll

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Dan Hough says vote-buying won't stop, however, if stakes remain high

Dan Hough says vote-buying won't stop, however, if stakes remain high