North Koreans cast votes, but gov’t decides for whom

In this Monday Feb. 24, 2014 photo, North Koreans walk past an election poster that reads: “March 9 is the election of the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly, Let’s all vote in agreement!” in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP.

PYONGYANG, North Korea—North Korean voters are going to polling stations to elect a new national legislature, although they don’t get to choose who to vote for since there is only one candidate per district.

The vote Sunday for the Supreme People’s Assembly is the first in five years and the first under leader Kim Jong Un. The last elections were held in March 2009, when 687 deputies were elected to the assembly. It is the most powerful body under North Korea’s constitution, but which in reality has little political power.

The voting is being held in a holiday atmosphere, with national flags hoisted along the streets, women decked out in colorful traditional clothing and dancing events in parks and riversides.