by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
North Korea held local elections on Sunday to decide its provincial governors, with the official voter turnout recorded at 99.97 percent, the Korean Central News Agency reported. However, voters did not mark their ballots, as all candidates were already pre-selected by the government.
Voting is compulsory for all North Korean citizens over the age of 17. Since candidates usually run uncontested, voters only have to deposit their ballot slips into a ballot box to show their support for their soon-to-be provincial representatives. Failure to make an appearance at the polls is considered tantamount to treason.
Only those who were overseas were unable to participate in the elections, KCNA reported. It added that the elderly and ill who were unable to visit polling stations participated in the elections votes via “mobile ballot boxes.” North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un also cast his vote in Pyongyang over the weekend.
According to CNN, the North Korean elections are seen as an unofficial census to ensure that all citizens are where they’re supposed to be.
Since 1999, North Korea’s local elections have been held every four years. The number of seats is determined by each district’s population. During each four-year term, elected deputies convene once or twice a year to set their provinces’ budgets and endorse leaders appointed by the ruling party.
Earlier this month, South Korean intelligence officials claimed that about 70 North Korean officials have been executed since Kim Jong-un rose to power.
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Featured image via Yonhap News Agency
