Elections are considered the biggest festival of democracy all over the world, but the recent parliamentary elections in North Korea have once again sparked debate. The reason for this debate is North Korea’s election results—data that sounds a lot like getting a 100 out of 100 on a test. In fact, the party led by Kim Jong Un won 99.93 percent of the votes in this election. Apart from this, it is being told that the number of people casting their votes reached a shocking 99.99 percent. As soon as these figures emerged around the world, social media was filled with memes; People went to great lengths to create fun content based on these “perfect” results.
A dictator, who conducts elections only to test loyalty!
Members of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly were elected in elections held in North Korea on March 15. According to government media, ruling party candidates won every seat. Reports show that 99.93 percent of voters voted in favor of the ruling regime, while turnout across North Korea stood at 99.99 percent. One special thing was that only 0.07 percent people *did* not support Kim Jong Un. This 0.07 percent has now become the biggest topic of discussion on the internet.
It is worth noting that North Korea’s electoral system is quite different from the rest of the world. There is only one candidate for each seat—a candidate who has already been approved by the government. Voters have only two options: either accept the candidate or reject him. As a result, this 0.07 percent does not represent votes cast for an opposition leader, but rather “negative votes”—that is, votes cast to reject the candidate. One important aspect of this election is that for the first time in decades, it is officially acknowledged that some people voted *against* a candidate. According to reports, this is the first time since 1957 that such special figures have been made public in North Korea.
Users are asking: “What would have happened to those 0.07 percent people?” After the announcement of North Korea’s election results, memes are being shared rapidly on social media platforms. A funny meme circulating on social media highlights that Kim Jong Un got 99.93 percent of the votes; Directly below this figure is another photo of a final journey, which humorously hints that the remaining 0.07 percent of people are the same people shown here. Meanwhile, a user commented that the situation is “just like a group project at school, where everyone just agrees on one thing.” Another user said, “These 0.07 percent people are the same germs that survive even after using Dettol.” Another user commented, “North Korea’s population has decreased by 0.07 percent.” One user even asked, “Are elections even held in North Korea?” Another user commented, “0.07 percent people are missing,” and in the next line added, “They have been sent straight to hell.” Finally, one user asked, “Tell me—who actually ran against Kim Jong Un?”
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