Every few years, North Koreans around the country are expected to turn out to cast votes in elections for local people’s congresses. The elections are a rubber-stamp pretense, with voters only able to select from a single candidate per position, but the DPRK has still held them consistently for the last 25 years, most recently in July 2019.

But while North Koreans should go to the polls between July 21 and Aug. 3, state media has yet to make any mention of preparations for the election, and the silence suggests changes may be underfoot.

The Central Committee plenum