Last year, North Korean supreme leader – Kim Jong Un – was not only elected to the highest legislative body in the country, he won with the unanimous approval of his district, which had 100% turnout. It was first time the election had been held since Mr Kim inherited power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.

It may be laughable, but it seems the dictator does practice democracy, contrary to what others believe, although it was too good to be true (*grin*). Of course, in the election, voters have “no choice” who to vote for simply because there’s only one candidate’s name on the ballot for each district. But, they have the choice of voting “Yes” or “No”.

In the country’s latest local elections yesterday (July, 19), North Korea once again impresses the international community when it saw a 99.97% voter participation rate. Only those who were out of the country were unable to vote, KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) said, with the elderly and ill casting their votes into “mobile ballot boxes”.

Typically, 99% of North Korean voters in the single-party state take part in elections and 99% of them cast “Yes” votes for uncontested candidates. It was like putting a single candidate in a school examination, which naturally the candidate himself would emerge as the top scorer. And in the case of North Korea, the candidate was Mr Kim himself.

However, elections in North Korea are such a ritual that you may wonder if it was necessary at all in the first place. Well, the only purpose for elections in the country is to serve the objective of identifying detectors or rebels in the country’s 25 million population so that they can be imprisoned. Here’s how the elections work in the country.

First, North Korean voters will make a deep bow to the portraits of the Leaders from the Kim family upon entering the polling station. Then, they will be issued ballot papers, whereupon they will proceed to a voting box. Of course, the ballot will have only one candidate, but voters can always vote “No” instead of the traditional “Yes” vote, if they dare.

But, there are other hidden reasons with North Korean elections that you may not know. The Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), otherwise known as the North Korean Parliament, is the only place that one can tells if there’re rising stars among the civil or military leaders. For example, if a young bureaucrat or military officer is elected, analysts can predict that the person has the blessing of  supremo Kim Jong Un.

Most importantly, the SPA’s composition also indicates the policy of North Korean leader for the country. For example, if there’re more industrial managers among the newly elected members, this is usually a sign that more attention is being given to economic growth. Conversely, if more military officers are elected, it means defence is of paramount importance.

Otherwise, elections in North Korea do not serve any other purposes except to create a feel good factor to the supreme leader of the day that more than 99% of its 25 million people actually love and worship their leader, regardless how funny and ridiculous a haircut their leader has (*tongue-in-cheek*).

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