Elections

"We're going to form a republic where the people of each district and the Capitol can elect their own representatives to be their voice in a centralized government. Don't look so suspicious; it's worked before."

—Plutarch Heavensbee on democracy

There are only a few known elections in Panem's history, given that its government was primarily a totalitarian dictatorship and a police state. During the Second Rebellion, the rebels fought to establish Panem as a republic with a representative democracy.

History

Political elections

Few elections are mentioned throughout the trilogy. Due to widespread inequality and systematic oppression, the districts were largely unrepresented in national politics. Each district had a mayor who oversaw local matters, but Panem as a whole was overseen by Capitol citizens. The president possessed nearly all governing power, and the position was presumably a lifetime appointment. It is unknown how any officials— presidents, cabinet ministers, secretaries, or mayors— attained power, although most of them were likely appointed.

Following its secession from Panem during the Dark Days, District 13 operated as a stratocracy, or government headed by military chiefs, and all of its citizens were drafted into military service at the age of fourteen. Its head of state retained the title of president, but it is unknown whether one attained this position through election, appointment, or merit.

Post-Second Rebellion

After the Second Rebellion ended in a decisive rebel victory, President Coriolanus Snow was deposed, taken into custody, and sentenced to death; in his place, District 13's President Alma Coin took charge. In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, she declared herself the interim president of Panem and claimed an election would be held after an indefinite period of time, "when the time [was] right".

Coin was assassinated by Katniss Everdeen soon after, so an emergency presidential election was organized, and Commander Paylor was elected into office as the new head of state. This was Panem's first known democratic election for the purposes of political representation. No other presidential candidates were mentioned, but in Plutarch's letter to Katniss in Mockingjay - Part 2, he said he expected Paylor, as "the voice of reason", to win by a wide margin. It can be assumed that other elections soon followed after Paylor took office, and a representative democracy was officially instated.

Non-political elections

For the 25th Hunger Games, each district was forced to vote on the male and female tributes they would send to fight in the arena for the first Quarter Quell. This was intended as a reminder to the rebels that they started the war and sent their young to die.

Another apolitical election was held prior to the reading of the Quell card for the 75th Hunger Games. Cinna designed two dozen different wedding gowns for Katniss Everdeen, and Capitol citizens were able to vote for their favorite dress at each stage, narrowing it down to six finalists before one last vote. Katniss was eventually forced to wear the winning gown during her pre-Games interview with Caesar Flickerman.

On the day of Snow's scheduled execution, Coin had the seven surviving victors vote on a proposal for a 76th Hunger Games featuring the children of Capitol officials. This proposal was approved by a narrow 4-3 majority, but it was never carried out because Katniss assassinated Coin later that day.

Trivia

• Plutarch's statement that democracy appeared in history books and worked for their ancestors seems to suggest that there are history books in the Capitol that still teach about the political system of the United States. However, considering the Capitol's classical influences, it is also possible that he was referring to the Roman Republic.