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North Korea

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of North Korea

Constitution Eternal President: Kim Il-sung National Defence Commission Chairman: Kim Jong-il Government Premier: Pak Pong-ju Supreme People's Assembly President: Kim Yong-nam Political parties Workers' Party of Korea Elections Korean reunification Subdivisions Human rights Foreign relations Juche Songun

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Elections in North Korea are held every five years. At the national level, North Koreans elect a legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). In addition to the Supreme People's Assembly, the people elect representatives to city, county, and provincial "people's assemblies".^[1] Elections in North Korea are non-competitive, with a single unopposed candidate for each office selected beforehand by party organizations.^[2]

Members of the Supreme People's Assembly are elected to five-year terms, and meet for SPA sessions up to ten days per year.^[3] The Supreme People's Assembly elects a standing committee known as the Presidium, which exercises legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. It also elects the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, the country's chief executive, and the Premier.

North Korea is a single-party state in which only one political party, the Workers' Party of Korea, is legally allowed to hold effective power. Two minor parties exist. All candidates in the elections must be members of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.^[4] The Workers' Party of Korea dominates the Front and holds all but a few seats, and the other two parties are required to accept the leadership of the Workers' Party. Each party may nominate candidates, and the Democratic Front selects a single candidate for each office. This list of candidates is then presented to the voters, who register a yes or no vote in each race by secret ballot.^[5] In this way, the voters do not themselves choose representatives, but ratify the candidates chosen by the unelected party organization. According to official reports, turnout is near 100%, and approval of the Democratic Front's candidates is unanimous or nearly so.^[6]

Contents 1 2003 election 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

North Korea's most recent elections were held on August 3, 2003. Representatives were elected for five-year terms to all 687 seats of the Supreme People's Assembly, and also to 26,650 positions in city, county, and provincial People's Assemblies.^[7] All candidates were members of the three parties constituting the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.

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Summary of the 3 August 2003 North Korea Supreme People's Assembly election results

List	Seats
Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland Workers Party of Korea (Chŏson Rodong-dang) Korean Social Democratic Party (Chŏson Sahoeminju-dang) Chondoist Chongu Party (Ch'ŏndogyo Ch'ŏng'u-dang)	687
Total	687
Source:

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system
• List of Korea-related topics
• Politics of North Korea

• ^  DPRK Holds Election of Local and National Assemblies. The People's Korea. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
• ^  The Parliamentary System of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Constitutional and Parliamentary Information. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.

• Adam Carr's Election Archive