No surprises expected for Kim as North Korea goes to the polls
● Turnout set to top 99% in ‘foregone conculsion’ vote
Millions of North Koreans, including leader Kim Jong Un, went to the polls yesterday to take part in elections to the national legislature – although the result was never in doubt, with the vote more of an endorsement than a contest.
Voters were presented with just one state-sanctioned candidate per seat and cast their ballots not to select but rather to show their approval or – at least theoretically – disapproval of that candidate.
The elections, last held in 2014, are for the entire 700-strong Supreme People’s Assembly, which on paper is the highest organ of power in North Korea. Its delegates come from all over the country and all walks of life, with candidates selected by the ruling Korean Workers’ Party and a couple of other smaller coalition parties that have seats in the assembly.
Mr Kim, who has not long returned to the country following his trip to Hanoi for a second summit with US President Donald Trump, was shown on state media casting his vote at a polling centre at Pyongyang’s Kim Chaek University of Technology.
Kim is a member of the assembly, although his power rests in his complete control over the ruling party, government and military.
“The election will strikingly manifest the fixed will of our people to firmly trust and uphold to the last supreme leader Kim Jong Un despite storm and stress,” the ruling party’s official daily said in a commentary yesterday.
Turnout in the election is expected to be 99 per cent or higher, as was the custom in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, with voting regarded as a duty and responsibility and simply staying at home not an option. Under North Korean law, citizens can vote from the age of 17.
“I’m very proud to be voting for the first time,” said 19-yearold university student Kim Ju Gyong, who cast her vote at the Pyongyang Primary School polling station. “I feel happy to be a citizen and I want to do my best for the future of my country.”
Voters show election officials their ID cards to receive their ballot with the sole candidate’s name on it, which they cast in a private booth. If they approve, they simply put the ballot in the box.
If they don’t approve, they cross the name out and put it in the same box, although an official, quoted by the Associated Press said that basically never happens.
“No one votes against the candidate,” said Jin Ki Chol, the chairman of an election committee supervising a polling station at a cable factory in central Pyongyang.
Election days have a festive mood. Bands play music as voters queue, and there is group dancing for those who have already finished.
Despite bieng a foregone conclusion, it is not known when the results of the election will be announced. Five years ago, 687 deputies were elected, but the results were only announced two days after the vote.
The elections are not intended to encourage policy debates among the public but to provide a veneer of democracy for the authorities and a means of monitoring the loyalties of citizens. Being chosen for the assembly is a big honour, so the elections are also an important means for the regime to reward up-andcoming groups.
The vote came as North Korea faced increasing international scrutiny over activity at a former rocket testing site. John Bolton, President Trump’s top national security, said he would be “pretty disappointed” if North Korea were to launch a new rocket or missile test, as some experts believe they are preparing to do.
Bolton said the US government was watching North Korea “constantly” and “Nothing in the proliferation game surprises me anymore.”