Local government elections in Bulgaria ended a month ago. Almost parallel to them, elections for mayors were held in North Korea. Governors there have also complained of a worrying drop in voter turnout. Instead of the expected 99.99%, they went to the polls, notice – “barely” 99.63% of those entitled to vote.
Later, the phenomenon was explained by the increased percentage of people working abroad – over 100,000 people. Those who knowingly refused to cast their ballot are exactly 0.000078% of voters.
Since 1999, North Korea has regularly held local elections. The mandate of mayors and municipal councils is 4 years. Voting is strictly mandatory, and there are two options. The voter can vote in favor of a pre-selected list or cross out that he does not support it.
The vote is not secret. The ballot is not placed in one ballot box. The polling stations are preparing two separate boxes with different colors – green for approval and red for disapproval. The members of the sectional commissions see what everyone is voting for from the people on their list.
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“North Korean voters have no incentive to vote “no”.Andrey Lankov, professor of history at Kookmin University in Seoul, emphasized to the Financial Times.
“If you vote yes, they will be seen as subversive and you will be in trouble with the police“, he adds.
A week ago, for the first time, voters had to choose between more than one candidate
Photo: BTA/AR
Americanization of the process
The November 26 local elections were highly unusual for North Korea. Usually, there is only one candidate for mayor in all settlements. This time, his selection took place in a democratic manner, similar to the primaries for a presidential candidate in the United States.
Voters choose between various candidates of the ruling “Patriotic Front”. The primary election was held on November 4 and decided what the only possible option would look like.
North Korean media is covering how two women are running for office in the northern city of Hyesan. It borders China and is home to about 100,000 people, Radio Free Asia reports. Choe Hu Yang was born in 1979 and is a manager at the Regional Food Inspection. Kim In Hoo was born in 1973 and is a financial manager at a local restaurant. The vote determines which of the two will be the proposal for mayor of the “Patriotic Front”.
Apart from the actual presence of more than one candidate, secret ballot was used for the first time. This caused both confusion and interest among voters, Radio Free Asia commented.
“Choe has worked in the food industry for a long time and received more than 70% of the votes in his favor. People say she is the person who can solve our food problems“, says a local resident who wished to remain anonymous.
Pyongyang wants to introduce a competitive element into its electoral system. It is assumed that this will increase the motivation of the local government as well as increase the interest of the voters.
Let’s count the opposition
The election is on November 26 the first ones where the rulers don’t win 100% from the vote. Lankov commented that, unlike other socialist countries, Pyongyang has always reported 100 percent victories.
This time, state media in North Korea announced that 0.1% voted against the candidates. According to international analysts this serves two purposes. Pyongyang wants to be perceived as a democratic country and works to build such an image. This is done with more substantial steps, such as the competitive element in the primaries, but also with purely facade methods. The other goal is to create the impression among the population that they can express their opinion more freely. Since the vote is not secret, the authorities will count the “opposition elements” in the country much more effectively.
Propaganda poster that reads – “Let’s all vote Yes”
Photo: Jensowagner/PRK, Nepal 236/Wikimedia
Mayor with ceremonial functions
The mayor and municipal councilors in North Korea have little real power, and the central government can easily afford to “play democracy”. The reason for this is that the state and the ruling party have merged into one.
“A parallel system operates there. There is a mayor who is technically elected but is actually reappointed. But there is also a district party secretary. This is the figure with real power. The mayor can be important in some cases as long as he knows his proper place and does not challenge the local general secretary of the Workers’ Party of KoreaLankov commented.
Thus, in a regional city, decisions are not made by the municipal council or the mayor, but by the first secretary of the District Committee of the RPK.
Multiparty Parliament
It would come as a great surprise to many to learn that North Korea is not a one-party state. Or at least not in theory. The last parliamentary elections were held in 2019.
The Workers’ Party of Korea won 87.5% of the seats, but the Social Democratic Party of Korea took 7.4%. The Chondo party “Chongu” takes 3.2%, and there are also two non-party deputies in the parliament. In addition, there are also 5 seats for representatives of the North Korean community in Japan.
What do we know about the other parties?
The Korean Social Democratic Party was founded in 1945 by the nationalist Cho Man-sik. He fought for the independence of the country, until recently occupied by Japan. Man-sik opposes the division of Korea into two parts. His party initially attracted businessmen and the local Christian community. Its membership grew to nearly a million.
A few months after its creation, the Social Democratic Party was infiltrated. Man-sik is tasked with raising cadres loyal to Kim Il-sung. In 1946, he disappeared from the political scene – he was sent to a labor camp and later shot. Thus his party becomes a puppet structure.
The Korean Social Democratic Party continues its life as part of the “Patriotic Front” in Korea. At various times, the organization was used as a controlled opposition. Its purpose is to mark those who disagree with the regime, but also to serve as an outlet for those dissatisfied with it. Even today, it continues to have 30,000 members.
Chongdu Party “Chongu” is related to the folk belief Chonduism. It originated in Korea in the 19th century and blended Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism and local shamanism into one. Officially, there are 2.8 million Cheonduists in North Korea. Their actual number may be even higher because the customs of the faith are widespread.
Cheondoism emphasizes self-cultivation in the hope that by improving one’s innate nature, one draws closer to God.
At the time of its founding, the Chondoist Party attracted hundreds of thousands of members. However, she had a hard time with the establishment of the dictatorship in North Korea and the subsequent Korean War.
In the 1950s, its leaders were tried for a planned coup attempt. However, the party continues to exist, but is now fully under the control of the regime. Its purpose is the attraction of refugees from South Korea.
In 1986, the party was headed by Choe Deok-sin, a former foreign minister of South Korea who fled to Pyongyang.
About 100,000 Koreans live in Japan and are fiercely loyal to Pyongyang. They are united by the “Chongryun” organization. Their lives are extremely closed, and communication with the rest of Japanese society is minimal. They have the right to broadcast 5 MPs in the North Korean Parliament.
All this gives the impression of a more diverse political life.
The listed organizations are under the total control of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Elections are again held only by voting for or against the pre-approved list. It is only one – of the “Patriotic Front”, which unites all available parties. The authorities in Pyongyang know in advance how many parliamentary seats to distribute to the other parties.
Like the mayor and the municipal council, the parliament also has mostly ceremonial functions. The National Assembly meets once or twice a year in regular sessions of several days. On paper, it has great powers – voting on new laws, amending the constitution and making political decisions. In practice, the Parliament only “stamps” decisions already taken by Kim Jong Un and the Politburo.
2023-12-02 07:55:00
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