Elections in North Korea

Elections in North Korea are held every four-to-five years for the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the country's national legislature, and every four years for Local People's Assemblies. Critics argue that North Korean elections are show elections which lack competition and allow the government to claim a veneer of legitimacy, with all candidates preselected and no option to write in other candidates. According to official reports, turnout is near 100%.

All seats are won by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea. The founding and ruling 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.

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 (ASGP) of the Inter-Parliamentary Union:

"While candidates could be nominated by anyone, it was the practice for all candidates to be nominated by the parties. These nominations were examined by the United Reunification Front and then by the Central Electoral Committee, which allocated candidates to seats. The candidate in each seat was then considered by the electors in meetings at the workplace or similar, and on election day the electors could then indicate approval or disapproval of the candidate on the ballot paper."

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. 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 Standing Committee, which exercises legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session which in practice is all but a few days of the year. It also elects the President of the State Affairs Commission, the country's head of state and highest state office, and the premier, the country's de jure head of government.

In 2023, the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly amended and supplemented North Korea's election law. Minju Choson, the newspaper of the cabinet and the SPA Standing Committee, stated that North Korea would implement a primary-like system in some constituencies, fielding two candidates to pick the nominee in the single-candidate main elections for People's Assemblies at every level. The candidates would be reviewed for qualifications such as loyalty and "revolutionary mindset". Previously, the candidates were solely picked by the WPK, and this change would mark the first competitive elections in North Korea since 1948. The local elections would also drop using the voting system where the voter would cross off the candidate's name to vote against them, switching to using two different colored ballot boxes for “yes” and “no” votes.

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.

Regarding this, scholar Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul stated that "They have a dual system: there is a mayor/governor, technically elected (but actually appointed), and there is a city/province party secretary. It is the latter who has real power, but mayor/governor can be important in some cases as long as he knows his proper place and does not challenge the Workers' Party of Korea secretary."

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 Korea. Because of the near 100% turnout, elections double as unofficial censuses. The inminban neighborhood watch-style organization reportedly watches the elections to identify and investigate no-shows.

South Korean news reporter, Dae Young-kim, claims that there are separate boxes for "no" votes. According to him, voting against the official candidate, or refusing to vote at all, 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.

Parliamentary elections

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By-elections

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Local elections

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 * 2023