The Qing dynasty held its first set of provincial assembly elections from February to June 1909. Following a lengthy period of political turmoil and the failure of the 1898 Hundred Days' Reform, the constitutionalist movement gained approval from the imperial court and Empress Dowager Cixi in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion. Following administrative and bureaucratic reform, such as the abolition of the imperial examination system in 1905, the Qing government created the Constitutional Commission in preparation for a twelve-year-long transition from absolutism to a constitutional monarchy. Seeing local self-governance as a valuable initial step towards constitutionalism, the Commission received imperial approval in 1907 to create provincial assemblies.
The following year, an indirect election system was outlined to fill these assemblies, with electoral districts drawn from the existing administrative divisions of prefectures, counties, and districts. They would be held in 21 of the country's 22 provinces; Xinjiang elections were postponed due to low rates of Chinese literacy. Suffrage and candidacy was limited to a small population of wealthy men, most of whom were members of the scholar-gentry. Public attitudes towards the elections was generally apathetic, even among those eligible to vote. Corruption, election fraud, and vote buying were common across the country. Potential voters were hesitant to provide election officials with proof of their property holdings, fearing that registration would lead to increased taxation. Turnout greatly varied between provinces and regions, but was generally low; while 40–70% of eligible voters in Jiangsu participated, rural areas of Fujian saw only 10-20% turnout. As a factor of the total population of the provinces, turnout varied from 0.19% and 0.62%.
The elected provincial assemblies were composed largely of constitutionalists, which were often divided between progressive and conservative wings. Some assemblymen were clandestine members of the Tongmenghui revolutionary organization, although firm numbers are unknown. The assemblies agitated for a variety of economic and political reforms, which brought them into conflict with the provincial governors, who held veto power over the bodies. Before another set of elections could be held, the 1911 Revolution saw the collapse of the dynasty and the creation of the Republic of China. The first provincial elections under the new government would be held in 1912.