National elections in Cuba

by Maria Josefina Arce.

Everything is ready in Cuba for this Sunday's national elections, in which Cubans are called to go to the polls to elect the 470 deputies of the Tenth Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power, the supreme organ of state power, which represents all the people and expresses their sovereign will.

The dynamic test of the past 19th, qualified as successful by the authorities, made it possible to finalize even the smallest detail to guarantee an organized, transparent, and impartial process.

More than 23 thousand polling stations throughout the country were activated, which made it possible to check the conditions of the premises, the security, the communications, and the training of all the people involved in this process from different responsibilities.

Voters are fully aware of the trajectory and merits of the nominees since the press has published their biographies, which have also been placed in locations of great public affluence.

In addition, the tours to the different territories of these men and women concluded this Friday. Since last February, these contacts with the people have been developed to know their opinions and the existing problems.

To guarantee that each citizen may exercise his/her right to vote, even when he/she is not in his/her place of residence, more than 200 special polling stations will operate in health centers, bus terminals, and others.

The electoral authorities informed that around 10 million ballots have been printed, a figure that includes a higher percentage as a precautionary measure.

An important aspect that surprises many in the world, but which is usual in Cuba and speaks of the involvement of the whole population in this process, is the participation of children and young people. Around 140 thousand minors will guard the ballot boxes, while an equal number of high school and college students will work as collaborators and observers of the correct development of the day.

Let's remember that this electoral cycle began last November 27 with the municipal elections, in which 11,502 delegates were elected from the districts of the 168 municipalities of the country, which formed the Municipal Assemblies.

On April 19th, the new National Assembly of People's Power will take office, which will elect its president, vice-president, secretary, and other members of the Council of State.

Those elected today will also be in charge of electing the president and vice-president of the country and of continuing with the legislative development of the Constitution.

This new exercise of participatory democracy has been described by Cuban President, Miguel Díaz Canel, as a courageous act, given the difficult economic conditions the country is going through after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the intensification of the genocidal US blockade, as well as the constant media attacks against the country.