North Koreans voted Sunday for delegates to the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, state media reported, with electoral authorities putting turnout at just under 100 percent.
The election for the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) comes shortly after a major gathering of the country’s ruling party, a once-every-five-years summit that directs state efforts on everything from diplomacy to war planning.
“As of 18:00 (Sunday), voting was ended at all constituencies across the country and 99.99 percent of the electors registered on the voter rolls attended it,” the central election committee said in a report published by the Korean Central News agency (KCNA).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un voted at a coal mine in the Sunchon area north of the capital before delivering a speech and taking photos with the miners, KCNA said.
When the SPA gathers, the focus will be on whether leader Kim will be named president, the top state post that has long been reserved for his late grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.