puties on the councils of
each of its subdistricts. City people's councils range from eighty-one
to 221 deputies, and those of the towns consist of from thirty-five to
ninety-one deputies. Commune council memberships range from twenty-five
to seventy-one persons.

Organized on the basis of highly centralized control, the people's
councils function under the general supervision of the Grand National
Assembly; and between assembly sessions the councils function under the
direction of the Council of State. The Law on the Organization and
Operation of People's Councils specifically places the people's councils
under the overall leadership of the PCR as the leading political force
of the society.

To expedite its work, each people's council established an executive
committee as its chief administrative organ and a number of permanent
committees to which it assigns specific responsibilities. The executive
committee, consisting of a chairman, two or more deputy chairmen, and an
unspecified number of other members, functions for the duration of the
council's term of office. Each of the people's council executive
committees also has a secretary, who is appointed with the approval of
the next higher ranking council and is considered an employee of the
central government rather than of the local executive committee itself.
The chairman of executive committees in the cities, towns, and communes
are officially considered the mayors of these units. The executive
committees are responsible to the people's council that elected them as
well as to the executive committee of the next higher council.

The executive committee meets whenever necessary and is required to
convene at least once a month; full council sessions are held every two
months on the city, town, and commune level and every three months on
the county level. Responsibilities of the executive committees include
the implementation of laws, decrees, and decisions of the central
government, the carrying out of the decisions made by the people's
councils, the working out of the local budget, and the drafting of the
local economic plan. The executive committee is also charged with the
direction and control of the economic enterprises within its area of
jurisdiction and with the exercising of supervision over the executive
committees of the councils inferior to it. The executive committees are
also responsible for the organization and functioning of public
services, educationa