The Sham Elections of the North Korean State

Every 5 years, all North Korans over the age of 17 are expected to vote in a democratic election in which 687 members of North Korea’s Supreme Peoples Assembly are elected to represent the North Korean people. Voters are handed a ballot with a single name pre-written upon it and are expected to place this supposed vote in a ballet box, however the ballet box is not enclosed for privacy, rather it is open and on display for all to watch as a persons peers submit their vote. This entire charade is pointless as there are no choices for voters, it’s merely an exercise to create the illusion of democracy for the international community. Perhaps the only positive which comes of this system is that there is no instability within North Korean families with opposing political ideologies as is the case with other democratic nations. Additional positive characteristics of this shameful display of democracy in action is that voters do not need to be familiar with candidates or their policies and platforms and they do not have to worry after having voted if they indeed chose the wrong candidate. The primary reason as to why these sham elections occur is because the North Korean government uses the process as a census to detect those who oppose the current status quo of the North Korean dictatorial political regime. Private voting booths are available but are treated with significant stigma as anyone who uses one in order to write in a candidate or perhaps a short message which is contradictory to the current administration of Kim Jong Un is subject to being questioned and arrested for the crime of “subversion of the North Korean political process”, something which would be unimaginable in most democracies. The entire operation is essentially a method of detecting and exposing dissenters. The 2014 election recorded a total turn out of 99.9% of the North Korean population