North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has won the parliamentary election with an overwhelming 99.97% of the votes, while only 0.07% voted against him. The election for the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly was held on March 15, where Kim’s ruling Workers’ Party and its allied parties secured all seats. Reports say that 99.99% of registered voters participated, with only a very small number of people—those living abroad or working at sea—unable to vote. What makes this election notable is that, for the first time since 1957, a small percentage of voters officially voted against the candidates. According to North Korea’s election system, a total of 687 representatives, including workers, farmers, officials, and service members, were elected to the assembly. The government media has highlighted this rare opposition vote as an unusual development, suggesting a slight change in the country’s tightly controlled electoral process.
