Home » Choiceless elections for Cuba’s parliament

Choiceless elections for Cuba’s parliament

by admin
Choiceless elections for Cuba’s parliament

Voting is taking place in Cuba today, Sunday, to elect the 470 representatives who will make up the National Assembly of People’s Power, the island’s parliament. Cuba has been a socialist republic since 1959, the Castro regime provides for a single party, the communist one, and the country is at the bottom of the rankings of almost all independent bodies by level of democracy and freedom of expression. The elections are therefore very particular, starting from the fact that there is no possibility of choice: there are 470 candidates, in 470 constituencies, for 470 seats. They are elected if they obtain at least 50 percent (plus one) of the votes, otherwise the seat remains vacant for all five years of the legislature: in the last session all the candidates were elected.

Despite this, and despite all the candidates being expressions of the Cuban Communist Party, the vote can give some indication of the degree of discontent of the population, grappling with one of the worst economic crises in recent decades, which led in July 2021 to historic protests, harshly repressed.

In the last municipal elections, which were held in November 2022, abstention had been 31 per cent, a very high figure in a country where voting is compulsory by law (as in many other Latin American countries) and where historically the turnout has always been very high, often exceeding 90 percent. A decline in participation is also expected for these elections.

Cuba has been experiencing a profound crisis in recent years, caused by various factors. The pandemic and the subsequent blockade of tourism, one of the country’s main sources of revenue, have made the structural problems of the Cuban system more evident which, together with the persistence of the American embargo, have affected the island’s economy for decades. The large debts accumulated by the state towards foreign creditors have made it difficult to procure raw materials and basic necessities, while the poor economic prospects and the severe limitations on political and civil liberties have caused a unprecedented migration flowespecially to the United States.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

All Cuban citizens over the age of sixteen vote in the elections for the National Assembly, with the exception of those who have applied for a visa to emigrate. Half of the candidates were chosen by a national candidacy commission, which is made up of representatives of various unions and associations of Cuban society, but which practically depends on the Communist Party. The others are instead appointed by the municipal governors, elected with the November 2022 vote.

See also  Here you can watch the Bundesliga on TV and stream

The profiles of all the candidates are published by the state press (there are no independent and free media), which have underlined how the majority are women and how many are young and Afro-descendant.

However, the inclusiveness of the next assembly, which includes almost 100 candidates under the age of 35, will not have any real effects on Cuban politics. Parliament’s powers are limited: those elected mostly limit themselves to becoming a point of reference for their own constituency and approving the decisions taken by the party without the possibility of changes or real debate. There is also no electoral campaign, which is prohibited by law.

The 2018 constitutional reform, approved with a popular referendum, reduced the number of parliamentarians from 614 to 470: those elected in turn will choose the Council of State from among them, the body that has had the greatest powers on the island since 1976 and the president. The designation of the latter will arrive at the end of 2023: the current president Miguel Díaz-Canel, the first post-revolution leader not to belong to the Castro family, barring unlikely surprises, will be confirmed for a second term, the last according to the constitutional rules .

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to vote for the municipal government in November 2022 (Omara Garcia Mederos/Pool Photo via AP)

The president’s confirmation will close the electoral cycle that began in November with the election of 11,000 municipal representatives: “local” elections are the only ones in which voters have a choice between several candidates, but with enormous limitations. Of the 26,000 candidates in the last election, only one belonged to an opposition group. Even after dissidents called for a boycott, participation was the lowest since 1976, a clear sign of citizens’ disaffection with the political system.

See also  Russia-Ukraine: news on today's war 5 September

President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself called it a “vote of condemnation”. The new constitution has instead eliminated provincial elections: governors are appointed by the president and approved by municipal assemblies.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy