In the run-up to the Nov. 26 elections for delegates to the regional people’s committees, North Korean authorities have introduced a brand new election method: allowing multiple candidates to run and letting citizens choose the winner. This development has sparked a wide range of responses from North Koreans.
“On Nov. 8, inminban [people’s units] informed people that this year’s elections would be different from in the past. Rather than being limited to a single candidate, two candidates can be placed on a ballot and people could vote freely for the candidate of their choice,” a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Oct. 15, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Following the change, the names and faces of the candidates have been plastered on street corners near workplaces and throughout residential units, the source said.
Some people were initially dubious about a change to the election process, leaving many surprised when posters with photos of the candidates began appearing.
While some were intrigued by the introduction of multiple candidates, others have been less enthusiastic, pointing out that “there’s no way to know about the achievements or personalities of the candidates, so it is impossible to know who to vote for, so we will [probably] end up just voting for whoever.”
Others commented that “it ultimately doesn’t make much difference since both the candidates have already been picked by the Workers’ Party.” One even went so far as to joke, “[I’ll] vote for whoever buys [me] a bottle of alcohol.”
People also cynically pointed out that “the state decides all policy matters and gives regional people’s committees no voice in the matter, so what could [the delegates] actually do for us anyway?” Some also remarked that “it’s not like [the delegates] can raise our voices to the Workers’ Party and change anything, so our ballots are just ballots.”
In Dongrim County, one person was made the focus of an ideological struggle during a weekly criticism session after remarking that “even if the election style changes, it’s not like it will change anything about our lives. I’m just going to vote for whoever has better physiognomy [personality traits ascribed to certain facial features].”
The source told Daily NK that “people are watching their words carefully after it was made known that the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Social Security were given orders to keep a close eye on people to make sure there were no strange reactions or reactionary political remarks in response to the new election format.”
North Korea revised its existing elections law at the 27th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly’s Standing Committee in August. The amendment allows for multiple candidates to be placed on ballots and for voters to elect one of the candidates. This is the first time such a system has been implemented in North Korea.
Unlike past elections that featured single candidates already pre-selected by the Workers’ Party, the new elections will have two candidates competing to win the majority of people’s votes and be declared the winner. The move appears to be aimed at garnering goodwill from people by partially expanding citizens’ voting rights.
In regards to the new election process, the South’s Ministry of Unification said that “North Korea has long been subject to criticism by the international community [for its election system]. In the midst of continuing economic difficulties, they appear to have changed the system slightly as a way to manage public opinion.”
The ministry did, however, point out that as long as North Korea fails to guarantee citizens the right to vote by secret ballot “there will still be a long way to go before people are truly enfranchised [guaranteed voting rights].
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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