After a local election, the North Korean regime reported votes against the ruling party, a first since the 1960s, according to a South Korean official.
Dissidents in North Korea? Kim Jong-un’s dictatorial regime surprised this Tuesday, November 28, by announcing that the ruling Workers’ Party had not won the local elections with 100% of the vote, as usual.
“Of the voters who took part in the vote, 99.91 percent voted for the candidates of the provincial people’s congress (and) 99.87 percent voted for the candidates of the city and county people’s congress,” state press KCNA said, citing to the Portal agency.
This is the first time since the 1960s that North Korea has referred to dissenting votes in local elections, said a South Korean Unification Ministry official in charge of relations with the North.
Two urns
“Analysts believe this is an attempt to project an image of a normal society,” notes Portal.
To vote, voters had a choice between two ballot boxes: one to approve the party’s proposed candidate and the other to reject him.
A video released by North Korean authorities shows Kim Jong-un voting at a polling station set up in a factory. We can see the leader dropping three ballots into a green ballot box before leaving the scene to applause from the crowd.
These regional elections usually have a participation rate of over 99% because voting is compulsory.