Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

North Korean voters face little choice in local elections

The reclusive state typically sees near-100% turnout as voting is mandatory for those over 17 and abstaining is an act of treason

Alexander Sehmer
Monday 20 July 2015 18:26 BST
Comments
North Korean soldiers march in Kim Il-Sung square
North Korean soldiers march in Kim Il-Sung square (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

North Korea has held local elections to decide provincial governors - with the official turnout recorded at a near-perfect 99.97 per cent of the population.

Voters do not mark their ballot papers, but put them into a ballot box to show support for pre-approved candidates. There is only one candidate on the paper for each district.

A near-100% turnout in North Korean elections is common since voting is mandatory for everyone over the age of 17 and abstaining is considered an act of treason.

Observers say the polls are used as an informal census, allowing the authorities to ensure citizens are where they are supposed to be and identify defectors.

According to the official figures from the weekend's poll, then, 0.07% of the eligible population avoided the vote.

North Korea has a population of 24.9 million people. Figures for what percentage of North Korea's population are of voting age are not available, but perhaps a rough calculation can still be made:

The CIA World Factbook records that 21.5% of the population is under 15, and a further 16.3% are between 15 and 24 years old. Extrapolating somewhat, about 18.8 million North Koreans may be of voting age.

At a very rough estimate then, about 13,160 North Koreans were either excused from voting or took their life in their hands.

Those elected in the vote over the weekend will have four-year terms, but very little political power. Analysts say they are intended to validate decisions made by the government and rarely meet.

Nonetheless, North Korea analysts will have monitored the elections for signs of who is favoured by Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader.

Mr Kim himself is an elected official; in the last parliamentary election in 2014 he won 100% of the vote in his Mount Paektu constituency.

North Korea's full official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in