A show election is an election that is held purely for show, that is, without any significant political purpose. Show elections are a common event in dictatorial regimes that still feel the need to establish some element of public legitimacy.

Ballots in a show election may be in the form of a simple "yes or no" question on the ruler's leadership. A pre-determined conclusion is always established by the regime, either through coercion of voters or flat-out vote rigging.

Show elections were commonly seen in the Soviet Union, as well as dictatorships such as Iraq, Uganda, and North Korea.

Often times the "results" of a show election are quite obviously one-sided to the point of absurdity, with leaders claiming mandates of 90 percent or higher, which almost never occurs in a free democratic election. There have even been cases in which rulers have claimed a mandate which exceeded the actual population of their nation.