North Korea reports near 100% turnout in local polls
Posted: 30 July 2007 1253 hrs

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SEOUL: Communist North Korea Monday reported a 99.8 per cent turnout for nationwide local elections, with 100 per cent of the electors choosing the candidates on offer.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday's local polls "marked an important occasion in reinforcing as firm as a rock the revolutionary government of the DPRK (North Korea) led by Kim Jong-Il."

The agency, quoting the Central Election Guidance Committee, said 99.82 per cent of all registered voters turned out to elect deputies to provincial, city and county people's assemblies.

Some 27,390 "officials, workers, farmers and intellectuals" were elected deputies after receiving all possible votes, it said.

Power in North Korea rests with Kim and his Workers' Party of Korea. The national legislature known as the Supreme People's Assembly, which is nominally elected every four years, serves only to ratify party decisions.

KCNA said voters had participated "with ardent revolutionary enthusiasm to fully demonstrate once again the might of the people's government signally strengthened under the Songun leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea."

The Songun (army-first) policy prioritises the needs of the powerful 1.1-million-strong military over those of ordinary civilians. - AFP/ac