MID-TERM VOTE

Cuban elections during historic times

Some 88.3% of eligible voters cast ballots during the first round of mid-term elections, on April 19, to select delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power
Author: Livia Rodriguez Delis | livia@granma.cu
april 21, 2015 09:04:24

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Juvenal Balán

This April 19, Cubans participated in another historic event reflective of the times. More than 7.5 million voters, 88.3% of eligible voters, exercised their right to vote to reaffirm their commitment to the future of the Revolution, on a day when the country also celebrated the 54th anniversary of Cuba’s victory over the U.S. backed invasion at Playa Girón, on the Bay of Pigs.
Alina Balseiro, president of the National Electoral Commission (CEN), presented preliminary results to the press, assessing the vote as satisfactory, with 90% of the ballots ruled valid, 4.54% submitted blank and 4.9% considered invalid.
She reported that 11,425 delegates were elected during this first round, having won over 50% of the vote as required, while 1,164 constituencies will return to the polls April 26 for a second round vote, since no candidate reached the necessary percentage.
Balseiro noted that the number of female delegates rose to 34.87% of the total and that 14.95% were youths, while 54.87% of current delegates were reelected.
She emphasized that only 59.24% of those elected to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power are members of the Communist Party of Cuba, while 6.75% are members of the Young Communist League, saying, “This demonstrates that political affiliation is not required to be a delegate.”
More than 24,600 polling stations were established for the elections, with 20,000 young people serving as observers, of special relevance during the public count of the vote, also witnessed by members of the community, as any interested party has this right.

Raúl casts his vote
President Raúl Castro Ruz exercised his right to vote on Sunday, April 19, in the elections held across all of Cuba to select delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power.

Author: Leticia Martínez Hernández | internet@granma.cu

april 20, 2015 09:04:42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Estudio Revolución

President Raúl Castro Ruz exercised his right to vote on Sunday, April 19, in the elections held across all of Cuba to select delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, a day which served as well to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the country’s victory at Playa Girón on the Bay of Pigs.

Upon arriving at the polling station in the Havana municipality of Playa, Raúl conversed with members of the constituency electoral board, emphasizing the importance of these elections in which Cubans elected their representatives to local governmental bodies, fundamental to the country’s political system.

After voting, Raúl chatted with elementary school students, who guarded the ballot box throughout the day, about their studies, what grade they were in, and what they hoped to do as adults. He asked about the length of their turns guarding the ballot box, and how many years they had to wait before voting themselves. Amidst smiles and joking, several photos of the students with Raúl were snapped.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Estudio Revolución

As he left the polling station, the President talked with a group of neighbors waiting to greet him.

Fidel exercises his right to vote
Around 12:40 this afternoon, the ballot bearing Fidel’s vote arrived at polling station no.1 in the Havana municipality of Plaza’s constituency no.13

Author: Arlin Alberty Loforte | internet@granma.cu
april 19, 2015 16:04:25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Alex Castro

Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz exercised his right to vote in the mid-term elections being held today in Cuba to select delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, the same day Cuba’s victory over imperialism at Playa Girón is commemorated.

Around 12:40 this afternoon, the ballot bearing Fidel’s vote arrived at polling station no.1 in the Havana municipality of Plaza’s constituency no.13. – placed within an envelope, and appropriately folded, to respect his right to a secret vote.

Fidel was visited at his home by a member of the constituency election board who was responsible for transporting his ballot to the polling station, to be deposited in the ballot box, as is stipulated by the country’s Electoral Law, for those who have the capacity to vote, but whose physical condition makes difficult their attendance at the polling station, whenever the citizen makes the request.

Carmen Llópiz Casadevall, president of the polling station no. 1 electoral board in Constituency no.13, located in the El Carmelo Popular Council district, to whom the ballot was delivered, deposited Fidel’s vote in the ballot box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Alex Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, appears on the constituency’s registry as voter number 13 among members of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution no.13, who exercise the right to vote at this site.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Jorge Luis González

 

 

Fidel Castro appears in public for first time in 14 months
Photographs show former Cuban president greeting group of Venezuelan visitors

Fidel Castro greeting a member of a Venezuelan delegation in Cuba last month. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Fidel Castro greeting a member of a Venezuelan delegation in Cuba last month. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Elisabeth Malkin

Former president Fidel Castro of Cuba made a surprise appearance in public for the first time in 14 months, greeting a group of Venezuelan visitors as they toured a Havana school, the Cuban media has reported. The report, which was published in the official Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde, was accompanied by four photographs of Dr Castro seated in his van and shaking hands with enthusiastic visitors who reached through the window.

The article said the encounter took place on March 30th but did not explain the publishing delay. It was also the first time Dr Castro (88) had been seen since his brother, President Raúl Castro, and President Barack Obama announced in December that the United States and Cuba would normalise diplomatic relations and loosen many of the economic restrictions Washington had placed on the island.
The agreement was a step toward halting five decades of enmity that has sustained the propaganda defining the Cuban Revolution. But for almost six weeks, Fidel Castro was silent about the dramatic reconciliation, leading to rumours in Havana and Miami that he had died. He finally spoke out at the end of January, when he published a letter in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Granma, explaining that he supported a peaceful resolution to conflicts but still distrusted US politics.
A few days later, Granma published photographs of Dr Castro in his home looking alert and animated during a meeting with a student leader from the University of Havana.
More photos
More photographs followed in early March when Castro met with five Cuban agents who had spent years in jail in the United States on espionage charges. Granma also published a letter from Castro about the five-hour meeting.
In the latest photographs, Castro was shown from inside his van, dressed in a blue Adidas jacket and a black baseball cap. The article said the encounter lasted 90 minutes as Castro greeted the 33 Venezuelans in the exchange group one by one and discussed political affairs in their country.
He called for people to petition Mr Obama to reverse his declaration calling Venezuela a threat to the national security of the United States.
The declaration last month eroded some of the goodwill in Latin America that the new easing of tension with Cuba had generated for the United States, just weeks before the Summit of the Americas meeting in Panama on April 10th-11th. Mr Obama and Raúl Castro will both attend the meeting.