Editing Song Jiaoren (section)

== First Chinese election campaign ==
Song Jiaoren was only 30 when he was tasked by Sun Yat-sen to organize the Kuomintang for the [[1912 Republic of China National Assembly election|1912 Chinese democratic election]] campaign, the first in China. Song proved to be a naturally-skilled political organizer, but he had an arrogant self-confidence, which alienated many potential supporters. Only 10 percent of the adult males were allowed to vote, about 40 million in all, who were the gentry, landowners and middle-class merchants. They formed the political base of the new party.<ref>Jonathan Fenby (March 2013). [https://www.historytoday.com/archive/chinese-democracy-silencing-song "The Silencing of Song"]. ''History Today'' 63#3 p.&nbsp;5.</ref> After the election, the Kuomintang won 269 of 596 seats in the House of Representatives and 123 of 274 seats in the Senate. Of the remaining seats, the majority were split between three rival parties, but over 300 small parties competed in the election. After the election, Song was widely regarded as a prime candidate for the position of prime minister.<ref name ="Spence1">Spence, Jonathan D. (1999). ''[[The Search for Modern China]]'', W. W. Norton and Company. pp. 275–280. {{ISBN|0-393-97351-4}}.</ref>

One of Song's main political goals was to ensure that the powers and the independence of China's elected assemblies were properly protected from the influence of the office of the president. Song's goals in curtailing the office of the president conflicted with the interests of China's provisional president, Yuan Shikai. By mid-1912, clearly Yuan dominated over the provisional cabinet that he had named and was showing signs of a desire to hold overweening executive power. During Song's travels through China in 1912, he had openly and vehemently expressed the desire to limit the powers of the president in terms that often appeared openly critical of Yuan's ambitions.  When the results of the 1913 elections indicated a clear victory for the Kuomintang, Song appeared to be in a position to exercise a dominant role in selecting the prime minister and cabinet, and the party could have proceeded to push for the election of a future president in a proper parliamentary setting.<ref name ="Spence1" />