The annual session of Guangdong People's Congress will open in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on Friday, the event's preparatory office said.

The new governor and heads of both disciplinary and justice bodies of Guangdong will be elected by local legislators during the seven-day event, said Zhang Xingjin, spokesman of the Guangdong provincial standing committee of the people's congress.

A new director of the local standing committee will also be elected, Zhang added.

The preparatory office will invite new leaders and mayors of several cities to meet the press during the session, in which they will be briefed on plans for social and economic development this year.

Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, is expected to realize its economic growth target of 8.5 percent in 2012, due to its early implementation of industrial upgrading amid the global economic downturn, the Nanfang Daily said.