North Korean “Elections”: A Brutal Farce That Reminds Us How Precious Real Freedom Is

By John Ogilvie

The Korean Central News Agency (the Kim regime’s official propaganda mouthpiece) proudly announced that North Korea’s latest “election” for the Supreme People’s Assembly delivered a staggering 99.93% approval rating for the Kim dynasty.

We put “election” in quotation marks for good reason. What happened in the DPRK wasn’t democracy. It was theatre of terror designed to crush dissent and identify anyone brave enough to whisper “no.” Let’s explore how this charade works in detail.

How Elections Work in North Korea

A polling station in North Korea (circa 2007). Notice the portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il.

Elections are held every four to five years. Voting is compulsory for everyone over the age of 17, and turnout is almost always 100%. This allows the authorities to use elections as a census.

In every single constituency there is only one candidate, carefully picked by the Workers’ Party of Korea and personally vetted for absolute loyalty to the Kim family.

For the actual voting process, citizens enter a room (similar to the one shown above) and are given a ballot with one candidate on it. They are expected to simply drop it in the box unchanged.

Rejecting the candidate requires taking a pencil or red pen (conveniently placed beside the box) and crossing the name out, often in full view of officials or by stepping into a visibly separate booth that everyone can see.

North Korean defectors and other intelligence sources confirm what happens next:

Voting against the candidate (or even failing to show up) can cost you your job, your home, your children’s future, and your place in the songbun caste system that dictates every aspect of North Korean life. The ultimate punishment? A one-way ticket to one of the regime’s notorious political prison camps, where conditions are beyond horrific.

This perverts the very idea of consent of the governed. It is manufactured obedience wrapped in the language of democracy. The entire exercise exists to create the illusion of popular support while flushing out the disloyal.

Getting Perspective

Moments like this put our own freedoms into sharp relief. In Australia we argue, we protest, we vote for whoever we please, and we go home safely no matter which box we tick. We actually have a choice.

That’s not to say that things are perfect, as there are legitimate concerns about government attempts to curtail freedom of expression. However, we are still extremely fortunate compared to many places around the world.

Look at what’s happening right now. One Nation, once dismissed as a fringe party, has surged in the polls since the May 2025 federal election. Recent surveys in South Australia even suggest it could overtake the Liberals to become the official state opposition. Whether you love their policies or loathe them doesn’t matter. The fact that such a dramatic shift is possible (openly, legally, and without fear) is the very definition of a free society.

That kind of political earthquake is utterly unthinkable in North Korea, where even private disagreement can destroy lives.

While North Koreans were marched to polling stations last week to rubber-stamp their oppressors under threat of ruin, Australians (and citizens of every genuine democracy) cast ballots that actually count. We disagree, we debate, and we sleep soundly regardless of the result.

This is not something to take for granted. It is a rare and precious gift purchased by generations before us and defended every single day.

Let the sham “elections” in Pyongyang serve as a stark reminder that freedom isn’t automatic. It must be cherished, protected and (when necessary) fought for.

We are lucky beyond measure to live in a country where our votes matter and our voices are our own. Never forget it. Never stop defending it.