New Delhi: North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un unsurprisingly secured another sweeping electoral victory as his Workers’ Party of Korea and its allies
claimed 99.97 per cent of the vote and all seats in the 2026 parliamentary elections, according to state media outlet KCNA. The vote was held on March 15 to elect members of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly.
Not really a close contest
Official figures reported that 99.99 per cent of registered voters took part in the elections. A very small number, about 0.0037 per cent were unable to vote due to being abroad or working at sea. Only 0.00003 per cent abstained from voting.
Of those who voted, 99.93 per cent supported the candidates, while 0.07 per cent voted against, an unusually noted figure in North Korean elections. Under North Korea’s election laws, 687 representatives, including workers, farmers, intellectuals, service personnel, and officials, were elected to the assembly.
With only one candidate listed per constituency, outside observers have repeatedly referred to the procedure as a “show election.” Notably, state media acknowledged opposing votes for the first time in a Supreme People’s Assembly election since 1957.
Internet reacts
As is often the case with Kim Jong Un, the internet leaves no chance to comment on him, often to humorous effects. In this way, the 0.07 per cent of the dissenting votes in this year’s elections in North Korea quickly gained notice online. Social media was rife with comments and memes with many resorting to humour and sarcasm to comment on the election result.
Kim Jong-un has won North Korea’s parliamentary elections with 99.93% of the vote.
Funeral for the 0.07% will be held tomorrow. 😭pic.twitter.com/MJJFHWSkKk
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) March 18, 2026
One joked, “Moment of silence for the 0.07%,” making fun of the well acknowledged authoritarian regime of North Korea and its violent history of suppressing dissent.
Social media platform X was rife with comments, one saying, “Democracy so strong even the missing 0.07% decided to go “offline” permanently. Or maybe they just voted from an undisclosed location.” Most comments were linked to the fate of those who voted in opposition, with another user on X commenting, “The 0.07 per cent died before elections.”
