Elections in North Korea


Elections in North Korea are held every four-to-five years for the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's national legislature, and every four years for Local People's Assemblies.
All seats are won by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland. The Workers' Party of Korea dominates the Front and holds 87.5% of the seats, with 7.4% for the Korean Social Democratic Party, 3.2% for the Chondoist Chongu Party, and 1.9% for independent deputies. According to official reports, turnout is near 100%, and approval of the Democratic Front's candidates is unanimous or nearly so.

Procedure

In reply to a question put forth by Michael Marshall, Li Chun Sik of North Korea stated at a meeting of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments of the Inter-Parliamentary Union:
Only one candidate appears on each ballot. Elections are ostensibly conducted by secret ballot, and a voter may cross off the candidate's name to vote against them, but must do so by crossing out the name without secrecy. Voting is mandatory and turnout is habitually near 100%.
Members of the Supreme People's Assembly are elected to five-year terms, and meet for SPA sessions up to ten days per year. The Supreme People's Assembly elects a standing committee known as the Presidium, which exercises legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. It also elects the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, the country's chief executive, and the Premier.

Local elections

Local elections have been held since 1999. The people elect representatives to city, county, and provincial people's assemblies in local elections every four years. The number of representatives is determined by the population of each jurisdiction.
Mayors and governors are technically elected. Their role is to work with the unelected and more influential city and province party secretaries.

Criticism

The elections have been variously described as show elections or a political census. Seats are uncompetitive as all candidates are chosen by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland. Because of the near-100% turnout, elections double as unofficial censuses. The inminban neighborhood watch reportedly watches the elections to identify and investigate no-shows.
A voter may cross off the candidate's name to vote against him or her, but in most polling stations the voter must do so with a red pen next to the ballot box in sight of electoral officials. In recent elections, there have been separate boxes for "no" votes. Many North Korean defectors claim such an act of defiance is too risky to attempt. Indeed, voting against the official candidate is considered an act of treason, and those who do face the loss of their jobs and housing, along with extra surveillance.

Latest election

The latest election was held on 10 March 2019.

Past elections

Parliamentary elections