Monday, March 9, 2009

North Korean "Elections"

I really don't get it. Why do they even bother with this cheap theatrics? For some reason, all these dictators want to have elections where there is only one candidate and voting is compulsory. Do they think they're fooling anyone? Or are they just stroking their own egos? Do they not understand the concept of democratic elections?

BBC News
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il has been unanimously elected to a seat in North Korea's parliament.

State media has claimed a 100% turnout in Sunday's elections for the rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly.

Voting, which was compulsory, was for just one pre-approved candidate in each constituency.

What gives them the right to cause pain and suffering for millions of people? It's inconceivable to me that Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao have "fans" when the CCP throw grandmas in jail and other people in mental asylums just for petitioning the government. Maybe the show of support is all paid political theater too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You see this happening over and over in different times and different regimes. The dictatorship administration gives power to the constitution by enforcing it and in return the constitution gives the administration the needed "legitimacy" to stay in power and control. I bet it has a technical term.

This theatrical act has some benefits to the authoritarian administrations:
1. There is no way to topple the administration through constitution (like what happened to Musharraf).
2. Ensures a very efficient and smooth transition between the head-of-state and the successor.