Election results showing a 100 percent victory are rare in modern democratic systems. However, history records that several world leaders have once “won” elections without a single opposing vote.
Among them are Kim Jong-un of North Korea and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. They stand as symbols of how elections can shift from a celebration of democracy to a display of absolute power.
Kim Jong-un: 2014 North Korean Election
In North Korea’s 2014 parliamentary election, Kim Jong-un was elected with 100 percent of the vote. There were no abstentions or rejections. The election was held to choose members of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s highest legislative body.
In North Korea’s political system, voting is mandatory for all citizens except those living abroad. The country is divided into around 700 electoral districts, each represented by only one candidate handpicked by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. With no competition, the outcome of the election was essentially predetermined.
Kim Jong-un ran in the Mount Paektu district, a region with deep historical and symbolic significance for the North Korean regime. The mountain is often associated with the origins of the Kim dynasty.
On election day, Kim arrived at the polling station accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who was making her first appearance at an official state event.
State media portrayed the result as “absolute support" from the people toward their supreme leader. According to official reports, voter turnout reached 100 percent, with every single ballot cast for Kim.
A similar election had been held in 2009, with 99 percent voter turnout and 100 percent of the votes going to the single approved candidate.
Beyond selecting members of parliament, the voting process in North Korea also serves as a tool to monitor citizens’ loyalty. Showing up at the polling station is mandatory, and failure to vote can be interpreted as a sign of disloyalty to the state.
Saddam Hussein: 2002 Referendum in Iraq
A similar scenario unfolded in Iraq during the 2002 referendum, when President Saddam Hussein was reported to have received 100 percent “yes” votes from more than 11 million registered voters. The referendum was held to determine whether Saddam would continue his presidency for another seven years.
The ballot paper offered only two choices: “Yes” to support Saddam Hussein’s continued rule, and “No” to reject it. According to the official results released by the Iraqi government, every single voter chose “Yes.” Officials described the outcome as proof of public support for Saddam amid threats of a U.S. and U.K. military attack.
No international observers were allowed to monitor the voting process, and foreign journalists were restricted to specific, tightly controlled areas.
This was not the first time Saddam achieved near-total approval. In a previous referendum in 1995, he reportedly won 99.96 percent of the vote.
The Iraqi government claimed that all citizens had cast their ballots. Izzat Ibrahim, the deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, declared that the results demonstrated the Iraqi people’s readiness to defend their leader. He said, “We don't have opposition in Iraq.”
The 100 percent result in 2002 was widely publicized by the government as a symbol of national unity and unwavering support for Saddam in the face of rising international tensions ahead of the Iraq invasion.
The Meaning of 100 Percent in Closed Political Systems
In authoritarian political systems, a unanimous election result often reflects the state’s total control over the political process. In open democracies, differences in voting outcomes are expected, making a 100 percent victory exceedingly rare.
Kim Jong-un and Saddam Hussein exemplify how elections can be held without opposition and without genuine political competition. In both countries, elections functioned not as a means for citizens to freely express their political will, but as a tool to legitimize absolute power.
