Seoul [South Korea], March 11 : North Korea is intensifying preparations for its upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for next week, including forming election committees and reviewing candidates for the Supreme People's Assembly, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency citing North Korean state media on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the country is set to elect deputies to the 15th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Sunday, following last month's major ruling party congress. Parliamentary elections in North Korea are typically held every five years, and the upcoming vote will be the first since 2019.
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), election committees have been established at provincial, city, county and military levels across the country as part of preparations for the vote, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The State media also indicated that meetings are being conducted nationwide to assess the qualifications of potential candidates for the legislature. The process appears similar to a primary stage aimed at selecting a single candidate for each electoral district.
KCNA stated that officials enjoying public confidence, along with workers, farmers, people from different sectors of society and military personnel, have registered as candidates for deputy positions in the assembly.
"Officials who have earned high public trust, workers, farmers and people from all walks of life, as well as soldiers, have been registering as candidates for assembly deputies," the KCNA stated as quoted by Yonhap News Agency.
Authorities have also completed the registration of all eligible voters in each constituency, according to the report.
Under the voting procedure, citizens cast ballots in favour of a candidate by placing them in the ballot box, while those opposing a candidate must strike through the candidate's name - a system that effectively removes secrecy from the voting process, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Supreme People's Assembly, described in the constitution as the highest organ of state authority in North Korea, is widely regarded by analysts as primarily endorsing decisions made by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
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