Why do totalitarian governments establish parliaments and elections that lack real power?

Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes often establish institutions such as parliaments, assemblies, and elections to serve as a facade of democratic rule, despite lacking any genuine power to check the authority of the state. These structures are typically filled with political loyalists and lack the independence required to function as meaningful legislative or representative bodies.12

The primary reasons these regimes maintain these institutions include:

• Legitimacy: By adopting the language and institutional forms of constitutional democracies, autocrats attempt to borrow legitimacy both domestically and internationally.123
• Facade of Democracy: Holding elections allows regimes to create a veneer of popular support. Even when the playing field is not level, these events can be used to demonstrate the perceived unity of the people or to provide a token opposition with "false hope," which helps manage domestic dissent.143
• Mobilization and Control: These institutions act as hierarchical procedures that subject state officials to the commands of the ruling group. They serve as instruments for social control and ideological indoctrination, ensuring that all state activities remain aligned with the regime's goals.1

Ultimately, these institutions are not designed to facilitate democratic governance but to reinforce the concentration of power in a single center.12