General election in North Korea 2019

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The parliamentary elections in North Korea in 2019 took place on March 10, 2019. All 687 seats of the Supreme People's Assembly in the 14th legislative period were elected for five years by direct universal vote. It was the second election since Kim Jong-un took office as "Supreme Leader" of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in December 2011.

Elections in North Korea are viewed as sham elections by observers outside the country . In addition, the Parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, and its Presidium have de facto no power. The election results and the constituent session of parliament can, however, indicate changes in the country's leadership.

The Mansudae Congress Hall , seat of the Supreme People's Assembly

Starting position

The previous general election in March 2014 was the first election held under the new leader Kim Jong-un. He is the successor to his father Kim Jong-il, who died in December 2011 . In addition to his previous posts as First Secretary of the Labor Party of Korea , First Chairman of the National Defense Commission ( renamed DPRK State Affairs Committee in 2016 ), Commander in Chief of the Korean People's Army and Supreme Leader of the Labor Party of Korea , the new leader is running for a seat in the 13th Supreme People's Assembly .

The parties in the last election were the Labor Party of Korea (PdAK), the Korean Social Democratic Party (KSDP) and the Chondoist Ch'ŏngu Party . A number of non-party candidates also ran, namely five representatives from the General Union of Koreans in Japan and three representatives from religious associations. All the candidates who ran were members of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland . There are no opposition parties in North Korea .

All candidates for election were successfully elected. According to the Central Election Commission, 99.97 percent of registered voters took part in the election. According to reports, around 55 percent of the incumbent parliamentarians were renewed in 2014. High-ranking politicians who were re-elected included its chairman, Choe Thae-bok, and chairman of the praesidium, Kim Yong-nam . Ambassador to China, Ji Jae-ryong , was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly for the first time along with Kim Jong-un.

In April, Parliament re-elected Choe Thae-bok as chairman. It also elected Pak Pong-ju as head of government and reappointed Kim Jong-un as first chairman of the National Defense Commission.

background

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump at the Singapore Summit

The year 2018 was marked by the de-escalation of tensions between the North Korean regime and its South Korean and US enemies. North Korea took part in the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang , South Korea . In April of the same year, Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea. He and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in jointly declared that "a new era of peace" is about to dawn on the Korean peninsula. In June, Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean head of state to meet with an incumbent US president for a bilateral summit . Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump agreed in Singapore on a declaration in which North Korea pledged to work towards a full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The second summit meeting with Donald Trump in Hanoi at the end of February 2019 failed; the Americans demanded bigger steps towards nuclear disarmament than North Korea was ready to take.

preparation

An election poster from 2009 with the slogan “Let's all vote yes!” (“모두 다 찬성 투표 하자!”)

Election date

According to Article 90 of the Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , new elections are held before the end of the legislative period of the Supreme People's Assembly by resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. On January 8, 2019, the Presidium announced that the election would take place on March 10, 2019.

Central electoral commission

According to Article 116 of the Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly is also responsible for preparing the election to the Supreme People's Assembly. On January 11, 2019, the Presidium decided to found a central electoral commission and its composition. The electoral commission consists of the chairman Yang Hyong-sop , the deputy chairman Kim Pyong-hae , the secretariat head Jong Yong-guk and 10 other members.

Election propaganda

On February 21, 2019, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the Labor Party publisher of Korea had issued election posters. On the posters you can find the slogans "With the power of perfect cohesion, help the socialism of our stamp to gain further respect!" And "Monolithically consolidate our revolutionary power!"

The Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland published an appeal to the entire population on February 25, 2019. The appeal stated that the general election “is a political event of great importance to eternally glorify and glorify the immortal merits of Comrades Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il , founders and developers of the Republic and the eternal face of socialist Korea under the excellent and proven leadership of chairman Kim Jong-un, great hero and patriot, to further strengthen the people's power and to bring about a brilliant future of the true people-connected country, the socialist homeland. "

In an article titled “The DPRK's Superior Electoral System”, the KCNA described the election as “an important opportunity” to “show the solidity and invincibility of the socialist system in which the leader, party and masses form a harmonious whole ".

Contributions to election preparation

According to a report by the South Korean Internet newspaper Daily NK , a contribution of between 1,500 and 2,500 North Korean won was levied per North Korean household to cover the costs of preparing the polling stations. According to a North Korean from Hamgyŏng-pukto Province , none of these contributions could be told to foreigners.

Electoral system

Ballot box in North Korea

The unicameral parliament of North Korea consists of 687 members. The country is divided into 687 constituencies, in each of which a member is directly elected. In order to stand as a candidate in a constituency, the candidate must be nominated in a general meeting of at least 100 voters and more than half of them must support his candidacy. However, it is believed by foreign observers that most of the candidates will be selected by Kim Jong-un, the Korean Workers' Party and the military.

According to the electoral law, the voter receives a ballot paper with the name of the candidate on election day upon presentation of his identity card. There is only one candidate per constituency. Voters have the option to vote for or against this candidate. If you want to support the candidate, you have to hand in the ballot paper blank. Anyone wishing to vote against the only candidate chosen for their constituency must delete the candidate's name. The candidate is deemed to have been elected if he has an absolute majority of votes in his constituency and if the turnout is at least 50%.

All North Koreans at least 17 years of age are eligible to vote, with the exception of people who have been denied the right to vote by court ruling and people with mental illnesses.

Sham choice

According to foreign observers, the elections serve primarily as a form of census and as a means for the state to check the whereabouts of its people and the refugees. All North Koreans eligible to vote are de facto obliged to vote and will be visited at home in the event of no-show. In this practice, the government often learns of refugees and missing people. According to refugee Mina Yoon, who left North Korea in 2011, a non-voter and his family get into trouble when the state learns that they did not come to the polls. To appear for the election, but to vote “No” and cross a candidate's name on the ballot, would be, according to Mina Yoon, an “unthinkable defiant reaction”. In the election, North Koreans will be checked for their loyalty - anyone who does not support the official candidate will become a “main candidate” for transfer to a prison camp . Staying away or casting a dissenting vote is considered treason.

According to North Korea experts, the elections also serve an ideological purpose. The North Korean propaganda occasionally speaks of how "ordinary people" can be elected as MPs. Election day is presented as a solemn day on which cities and villages are covered with colorful election propaganda and calls, and there are parades, music and lots of flowers on the streets. Many women wear traditional Korean clothing ( Chosŏnot ). After voting, North Koreans are expected to join the cheering groups outside the polling stations to express their happiness at having been able to vote for the wise leadership of the country. For most North Koreans, the general election is one of the rituals that they have to go through, but hardly question.

According to observers, the parliamentary elections in North Korea also serve to further consolidate and at the same time legitimize the power of the head of state Kim Jong-un.

Results

All 687 candidates were elected. According to the Central Election Commission, the turnout was 99.99 percent. In the last election in 2014, voter turnout was 99.97 percent, according to official figures.

At 12 noon on election day, the Central Election Commission reported a voter turnout of 56.76 percent, at 3 p.m. it was 92.35 percent. At 6 p.m., the Central Election Commission announced that all voters, with the exception of those eligible to vote who were abroad or on the high seas, had taken part in the election.

Kim Jong-un cast his vote for Hong So-hon , the university's rector , at the 40th polling station in the 10th constituency of Kim Ch'aek Technical University .

MPs

On March 12, 2019, the names of the members of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly were published by the state news agency KCNA. Kim Jong-un was not on the MP this time. It is the first time in North Korean history that the country's “Supreme Leader” has not run for office. According to North Korea analysts, his absence from the list does not mean a debilitating effect on power. Rather, it could be part of North Korea's ongoing efforts to be perceived as a democratic state with a separation of executive and legislative branches .

Kim Yo-jong , the younger sister of the North Korean leader, was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly for the first time. Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and his deputy Choe Son-hui were among the newly elected MPs.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Publication of the resolution on the election of the members of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK Naenara , January 9, 2019.
    Election of Deputies to SPA to Be Called in DPRK KCNA , January 9, 2019 (English).
  2. ↑ North Korea announces "parliamentary elections" in March Oberösterreichische Nachrichten , January 9, 2019.
  3. ↑ WD 2-3000-037 / 18: The political system of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. With background information on the North Korean diplomat Ri Su-yong and his personal relationships with the ruler Kim Jong-un Scientific Services of the German Bundestag , March 29, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b North Korea to hold legislative elections on March 10: KCNA NK News, January 9, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b c Leadership of North Korea elects parliament derStandard.at , March 10, 2019.
  6. ↑ DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui (Supreme People's Assembly) ELECTIONS IN 2014 Interparliamentary Union (English).
  7. ↑ Summit in Korea comes to an end: Kim and Moon commit themselves to “complete denuclearization”, Trump is delighted NZZ , April 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Trump and Kim agreed on these four points in Singapore Schleswig-Holstein newspaper publisher , June 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ North Korea profile - Timeline BBC , June 13, 2018 (English).
  10. ↑ The Supreme People's Assembly in the Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  11. ↑ Organization of the Central Election Commission of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPR Korea DPR Naenara , January 11, 2019.
    SPA Presidium Organizes Central Election Committee KCNA , January 11, 2019 (English).
  12. ↑ Posters on Election of Deputies to the 14th SPA Produced KCNA in the XIV Legislature in Naenara , February 22, 2019.
    Posters on Election of Deputies to the 14th SPA Produced KCNA , February 21, 2019.
  13. ↑ North Korea promotes March 10 election of top assembly members The Korea Times , February 22, 2019.
  14. ↑ Appeal to All Koreans Adopted at Meeting of CC, DFRK Uriminzokkiri , February 26, 2019 (English).
  15. ↑ Superior Election System of DPRK KCNA , March 6, 2019 (English).
  16. ↑ North Korean government collects cash from residents for polling places ahead of elections Daily NK , March 8, 2019 (English).
  17. ↑ a b DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui (Supreme People's Assembly) ELECTORAL SYSTEM Interparliamentary Union (English).
  18. ↑ DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui (Supreme People's Assembly) ELECTIONS IN 2009 Interparliamentary Union (English).
  19. ↑ 조선 민주주의 인민 공화국 각급 인민 회의 대의원 선거법 Chosun, October 1, 2013 (Korean).
  20. ↑ a b The dictator asks for the election Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 9, 2014.
  21. ^ Atsuhito Isozaki: Understanding the North Korean Regime Wilson Center, April 2017.
  22. ^ North Korea votes for new rubber-stamp parliament Associated Press , March 9, 2009.
  23. ↑ The weird, weird world of North Korean elections NK News, March 3, 2014.
  24. ↑ North Koreans vote in 'no-choice' parliamentary elections BBC , March 10, 2019 (English).
  25. ↑ The winners have already been determined Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 10, 2019.
  26. ↑ Publication of the announcement of the Central Election Commission on the Naenara election result , March 13, 2019.
    Report on Results of Election of Deputies to SPA Issued KCNA , March 12, 2019 (English).
  27. ↑ Report of Central Election Committee KCNA , March 10, 2019 (English).
  28. ↑ Report of Central Election Committee KCNA , March 10, 2019 (English).
  29. ^ Announcement of the Central Election Committee Naenara , March 11, 2019.
    Report of the Central Election Committee KCNA , March 10, 2019 (English).
  30. ↑ Participation in the election of the members of the Supreme People's Assembly in Naenara , March 11, 2019.
    Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Takes Part in Election of Deputies to SPA Uriminzokkiri , March 10, 2019 (English).
  31. ↑ North Korea election: Surprise as leader Kim Jong-un 'not on ballot' BBC News , March 12, 2019 (English).
  32. ↑ a b North Korea election turnout was 99.99%, claims state media The Independent , March 12, 2019 (English).