North Korea poll: Politics or propaganda?
Voters are obliged to tick “Yes” for the sole candidate on their ballot paper.
North Koreans have been voting for a new parliament, or Supreme People’s Assembly. The elections are the first in five years, and the first to be held since Kim Jong-un came to power.
Each of the ballot papers for North Korea’s 687 districts bears just one name, with voters expected to support the chosen candidate. A “No” vote is allowed; although it’s an option few are expected to exercise.
Kim Jong-un inherited the leadership of North Korea in December 2011 after the death of his father, “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il. The list of candidates is seen as a gauge of who he may be favouring – and by default, who he may not.
The vote also doubles as a census. Election officials visit every home in the country to make sure all registered voters are where they should be – exposing those who may have fled abroad.
So what will the polls say about North Korea’s youthful leader? And what can the international community read into the results?
Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault
Guests: John Swenson-Wright – head of the Asia programme at Chatham House, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on the future of Korea.
Andrei Lankov – professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University, and author of the book: ‘The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia‘.
Joseph Cheng – professor of political science at City University of Hong Kong, and a North Asia specialist.