Havana, October 12 (RHC)-- The National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) will meet for the first time virtually, according to the measures adopted in the new normality to face the COVID-19 in the Caribbean nation.
According to Cubadebate, under this format some 225 deputies will be gathered at the Convention Palace in Havana, while the rest will meet in their provinces. In this Ordinary Period, four bills will be submitted for approval, according to Homero Acosta, secretary of the ANPP and the Council of State.
Acosta said that this unprecedented format is a challenge for the legislative work. It will allow to comply with the required physical distancing and will avoid the concentration of people in one place.
"The National Assembly will meet from the Convention Palace with the deputies from Havana, as well as the deputies from other provinces who live in the capital. It will be presided over as usual by the Council of State. In the case of the rest of the provinces, there will be a virtual link by videoconference on premises set up for this purpose, which will allow interaction from the direction of the Assembly with the deputies," he explained.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, the ANPP must meet twice a year in an ordinary manner, notwithstanding, the lawyer clarified, although the tradition is to do so in July and December, it is not mandatory to do so on those dates.
In this sense, the first meeting of the Fifth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People's Power in its IX Legislature will take place next October 28th, as reported earlier.
Cuban deputies will have a busy agenda during this session of parliament. According to the Secretary of the Council of State, as of October 26, the legislative activity will begin with a videoconference in which the four draft laws will be presented.
"On the 20th, before the debates, the deputies will have in their hands all the bills, which will be discussed very day through videoconference. This space will serve to clarify some doubts," he said.
Unlike other years, the work will not be done in committees, except for the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, the International Relations Committee and the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, which must present the bills.
On Tuesday, October 27th, the Cuban deputies will exchange with directors of the Ministry of Public Health about the epidemiological situation in the nation and later they will learn about important aspects of the economic activity and the task of regulation.
On Wednesday, the 28th, the Fifth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of the People's Power in its IX Legislature is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. It will have the following agenda:
Report on the liquidation of the 2019 Budget
Economic-Social Strategy to boost the economy to face the prolonged global crisis caused by COVID-19
Ratification of the agreements and decree-laws approved by the Council of State during this period.
Presentation of draft laws (Draft Law on the Foreign Service, Draft Law on the organization and functioning of the Council of Ministers, Draft Law on revocation and Draft Law on the President and Vice President of the Republic)
With the realization of this period of sessions, continuity is given to the legislative program agreed upon last year and which complies with what was agreed upon in the Constitution of the Republic. "All of these circumstances have forced us to rethink the legislative schedule."
