Causing Trouble on Election Day Means More Severe Punishment

In this Korean Central News Agency photo released by Korea News Service in Tokyo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il casts his ballot at a polling station in Hamju county in South Hamgyong province, northeast of Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, July 29, 2007. North Koreans went to the polls Sunday to elect the Provincial, City and county People's Assemblies. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)


Causing Trouble on Election Day Means a More Severe Punishment

[NK Local Assembly Representative Election] Must Dance According to Orders with the Closure of the E
By Kim Song A
dailynk.com
[2007-08-01 15:05 ]
On the 29th, North Korea held the Local People's Assembly representative elections.
This is a representative held every four years for the general cities, gun (county levels) and regional districts.
The North Korea Supreme People’s Assembly reported on June 19th that it would conduct the local representative elections and on the following 23rd formed the Central Election Committee with Yang Hyun Sup, Vice Chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly Standing Committee as the Chairman.
Following this, the voter list was publicly announced on the 14th and the nomination of representative candidates was finalized on the 29th.
After the announcement of the upcoming election, North Korea has mobilized various media, institutions and individuals to promote voter participations. It also conducted an extensive resident registration check and a verification to search for travelers without a valid identification to ensure regulation for citizens’ voter participation.
What is the reaction of North Korean citizens on Election Day?
Citizens do not need to contemplate on whom to vote for. Everyone knows that not only is the election only to vote for or against the candidate but everyone must give a vote for the candidate as well. To these people, an election does not have a special meaning.
Lee Jung Hyun [pseudonym] who defected in 2005 remembers, “The election would merely consist of following the orders of the people’s unit’s chairpersons. The People’s Unit would gather and according to the Leader’s prior commands and sign with one’s signature. I didn’t even feel like it was a bother because there was no significance to the election.”
It wasn’t necessary bad because “it wasn’t too frequent, only once every couple years and Election Day was a holiday.”
Lee also added, “With the upcoming election, students even in middle school would be involved in propaganda to promote voter participation. In many cases, voter participation activity would be the role for students so adults would just have to participate on that day [Election Day].”
Citizens must start dancing in front of the voting booth before twelve o’clock as the voting starts to end. It is under the pretext that it is a happy and significant day to celebrate the observance of sovereignty.
Kim Ju Won [pseudonym] who defected in 2003 said that “the Head Official (person in charge of the election) or the chairperson of People’s Unit told us to dance so we would dance for 30 minutes to an hour and then separated to rest.”
After dancing, there would be no further activity for the day and everyone would each rest. Men would often have drinks and some citizens would go to the elected official’s houses to congratulate them.
Kim said, “On this day, despite how much you drink, you must not cause any trouble.” If anything happens on Election Day, there is a greater punishment than ordinary days.
Kim claimed, “In cases of a fight that breaks out after drinking or a theft, in severe cases, people are exiled to the countryside. Most people know that if you cause trouble on this day, there is a far severe punishment that follows.”
It is known that with the elections, North Korea has involved elementary and middle school students to promote voter participation. These students involved in such propaganda promoted voter participation with the slogan to “Strengthen the People’s Authority through Voter Participation”.
Defector Joo Won Kyung [pseudonym] from Pyongyang said “North Korea tries to unify the people and strengthen the regime but in reality they don’t see any other effects. Citizens only participate in the election because they do not want to be removed from the resident registration or be identified as a traitor.”