On March 10th, Juche 108(2019), the election of deputies to the 14th Supreme People's Assembly was held in DPR Korea. This election was a historical occasion that glorified the original idea and immortal exploits of the great leaders Comrade
The great leader Comrade
"Ours are the most democratic and progressive elections which enable all the working people including workers and peasants to take part in the work of the organs of their state power with equal rights as true masters of the country." ("
The election system of our country, that was established and developed by materializing the intrinsic need of the people-centered socialism of our own style under the wise leadership of the great leaders and the respected Comrade
The superiority of our election system lies, first of all, in that it aims at making popular masses genuine holders of state power.
The aim of an election is an important factor in determining the superiority and vitality of an election system. It is because the overall issues of election, including its principles and methods, are determined by the aim of an election, the basic method for building a state power.
The aim of an election is defined according to the character of a social system. Election in a capitalist society aims at strengthening hegemony over popular masses by maintaining bourgeois class's political power by all means. For this reason, a capitalist election system excludes as much popular masses such as workers and farmers as possible from election, and it is abused as a device to post monopolistic capitalists and adherents faithful to privileged class to positions of power organs.
In the people-centered socialist system, the noble aim of an election is to post faithful servants of popular masses to power organs at all levels so as to make people genuine holders of state power.
In a socialist society, the people's government is the representative of people's independent rights. The popular masses take part in state political affairs and exercise their political rights through the deputies to power organs at all levels whom they elected for themselves. For the power organs to be true representatives of independent rights of popular masses and serve for them, faithful servants of the people should be elected as deputies to those organs. All processes and formalities such as the principles, procedures and methods of election regulated in our election system enables all people to exercise their rights as true holders of state power and to elect their genuine representatives as deputies to power organs.
From the election of deputies to the 1st Supreme People's Assembly, which proclaimed to the world the foundation of the DPRK, a unique legitimate state representing all nationals of Korea to the election of deputies to the 14th SPA, and in tens of elections of deputies to local power organs at all levels, excellent representatives of people from different strata, including anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters, participants to Fatherland Liberation War, functionaries with distinguished achievements in the construction of socialism and powerful state; and workers, farmers, soldiers, and intellectuals who are infinitely loyal to the party and the leader and work devotedly for people, were elected as deputies.
Thus, institutional and legal guarantee for people to become substantial holders of state power has been established by electing genuine representatives of people's independent rights and benefit as the deputies of organs of power.
Second, the superiority of the election system of our country is that it endows a wide range of popular masses with the right to elect and to be elected and fully ensures its realization.
What sort of people are given the right to elect and to be elected, how many people take part in election and whether or not it is practically guaranteed are the important parameters that manifest the superiority and vitality of an election system. It is because the rights to elect and to be elected are the most important political rights that define the status and role of people in a given society. Only when the popular masses, who are the masters of society and creators of material wealth, can elect and be elected without any restriction, and it is thoroughly guaranteed by law, can it be a popular and democratic election system.
In capitalist countries, popular masses are deprived of the rights to elect and to be elected due to all kinds of restriction provided by law. A typical example is restriction on eligible age and residence period. The eligible age for electors is higher than legal adult age, and that for candidates is higher than the former, which inevitably result in inequality in exercise of people's political rights. The restriction term, which regulates only those who has been living in a given area for a certain period of time as eligible, excludes tens of thousands of seasonal workers, unemployed and homeless people from election in capitalist countries.
The election system of our country not only specifies the electoral principles of general, direct, equal and secret ballot so as to fully ensure the popular masses the right to elect and to be elected but also legally guarantees the conditions for its realization.
Popular masses can take part in election with equal rights without any discriminations or restrictions. All the citizens at the age of over 17 exercise the right to elect and to be elected regardless of gender, nationality, occupation, residence term, properties, intellectual standard, party affiliation, political views and religious faith. All the citizens in the territory of the DPRK, including welfare recipients and citizens who serve in the army as well as common citizens exercise the rights to vote. Korean nationals residing in other countries can also participate as they hope in election if election for the deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly is held during their stay in the homeland.
The procedures and methods of election fully ensure equality of election. Every elector can take part in election only once according to the principle of one man one vote. Each electoral constituency consists of the same number of electors as other districts so that the voting effect of all electors is identical. In addition, the electors directly put the ballot paper into the ballot box in person and voting is held in secret.
The aforementioned facts show that our election system is the most popular and most democratic one that provides all citizens with equal rights to elect and to be elected, and that thoroughly guarantees its realization.
Third, the superiority of the election system of our country is that it promotes free atmosphere for election and facilitates the electors' convenience to the maximum.
The atmosphere of an election has a great influence on the expression of the electors' intention. To make the electors and candidates freely express their will, freedom of election propagation must be ensured. Election propagation is an important lever to encourage electors to actively take part in election, and all the more so for candidates to have closer relationship with electors. In election propagation, electors are informed of the purpose, significance, procedure and method of the election, electors' rights provided in the election law, and candidate information and are called for to take part in the election.
Election propagations in socialist and capitalist election systems are completely different in terms of their content. In other words, the focus of the election propagation is different.
In the socialist society, election is an important event for popular masses to exercise their political rights as masters of the state and society. For this reason, election propagation in a socialist society involves motivating all electors to actively take part in election with civic consciousness. In contrast to capitalist election where several candidates representing different parties compete to be elected, in socialist election there is only one candidate. As a result, slander and calumny, negative vote or abnormal election propagation aiming at the baffling election for rivals are unimaginable situation in socialist election.
Election in a capitalist society is a furious fight between parties and candidates over the grip of political power. It can be conceived in this connection that the purpose of election propagation in a capitalist society is to win more public favor than the opposite parties and candidates by going to the extremities to beg more electors' votes. In a capitalist election propagation, which is characterized by insulting and criticizing rivals, one can never think of any call the entire people for active participation in an election but only begging to electors to support their parties and candidates.
The election system in our country fully ensures electors' convenience in an election.
First, electoral day is arranged according to the principle of providing electors with convenience and enabling electors to take part in the election actively. Election day in our country is normally on Sunday, not on workdays nor holidays.
Also, sufficient conditions are provided for those who are unable to be present in a polling place to personally express their will.
In addition, election is kept highly confidential so that election results can never be disclosed and impartiality and objectivity is thoroughly ensured to prevent any distortion of electors' will in the process of ballot counting.
Korean people celebrate the electoral day as one of the great events because the election system of the DPR Korea thoroughly guarantees the realization of all citizens' political rights.
On 3 November Juche35(1946), the day when the first democratic election was held, all the people in the country built up the gate of pine decorations in front of the polling place and sang and danced to farm music. Since then to date, every time election takes place, our people traditionalize singing and dancing all over the country with sense of happiness of exercising their rights as masters of the country. No country in the world celebrates an electoral day as such an auspicious one except ours.
The reason why our people celebrate the election day as the glorious festival is because they are deeply impressed by the significance and gratitude of the most superior people's political power and the glory and pride as citizens of the Republic and they are firmly determined to uphold in high esteem the great leaders as the eternal leaders of Juche Korea and to vigorously accelerate the building of a socialist powerful nation under the leadership of the respected General Secretary.
We must endeavor more energetically for the final victory under the wise leadership of the respected General Secretary bearing in mind the boundless dignity and pride of having the most popular and democratic election system.
