A new parliament was elected in Cuba on Sunday. The election of the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular), which takes place every five years, is considered an important mood test for the government in the midst of the current economic crisis. After its constitution on April 19, Cuba’s top legislative body will choose the president.

According to the preliminary final result, which was announced by the national electoral commission CEN on Monday morning, 75.9 percent of the 8.12 million eligible voters took part in the vote. Compared to the last parliamentary election in 2018, voter turnout fell by almost seven percent, but was well above the historically low turnout of 68.5 percent in the local elections last November. Until 2008, voter turnouts of 90 percent or more were the norm in Cuba. However, there was no massive abstention, as some observers had expected.

There were 470 candidates who applied for the same number of places on the list. All candidates received the necessary majority of 50 percent of the valid votes. 114 of them were set up at the national level by the electoral commission and social organizations such as trade unions and professional associations, 135 come from the provincial level. 221, nearly half, were nominated at grassroots level neighborhood meetings.

64 percent of the parliamentary seats are filled. 20 percent of the delegates work in education or healthcare. The proportion of women is 55.3 percent, which means that Cuba will continue to have the most female parliament in the world following Rwanda. The average age of the candidates fell from 49 to 46 years. Among the future deputies are well-known personalities such as the musician Raúl Torres as well as heads of state companies, institutions and educational institutions. The grassroots candidates tend to be unknown outside their constituencies. In the run-up to the election, President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the nominees as a “diverse and comprehensive portrait of our people”.

The Communist Party (PCC) is banned by law from nominating candidates, but most candidates are members of the PCC, which is constitutionally given “the leading role in state and society.” Opposition candidates, who have stood sporadically in local elections in the past, have not been nominated. The most important selection criteria for nomination at the national and provincial level are “merit, moral authority, acceptance by the population and appropriate social commitment”.

According to the official explanation, election campaigns are not planned in Cuba’s socialist system in order to exclude the influence of corruption and money in politics. Instead, the short biographies of the nominees are publicly displayed for several months in advance. The deputies do not receive any special remuneration for their work and are obliged to communicate regularly with their voters and to be accountable both before the elections and during the legislature.

The mobilization in the run-up to this year’s parliamentary elections was more intensive than usual, probably also in view of the recent decline in voter turnout. President Díaz-Canel visited his constituency in Villa Clara several times, and other high-ranking officials often sought talks with citizens and delegates in their constituencies.

As usual, the government campaigned in advance for the election of all candidates (voto unido). The long-standing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro justified this attitude in a speech before the National Assembly in 1993 by saying that in this way less well-known candidates were given the same chance and a sign of unity was sent out.

In the election on Sunday, 72.1 percent of the votes went to all candidates, 7.9 percent less than in the 2018 parliamentary elections. Overall, 49.4 percent of those entitled to vote followed the call to vote unido – a historic low for a national election in Cuba. Since the introduction of the People’s Power (Poder Popular) system in 1976, approval of the single list by more than 80 percent of the electorate has been the norm.

27.9 percent of the valid votes were cast selectively, i.e. for one or more of the candidates. 6.2 percent of the ballot papers were cast without a visible expression of intent (“blanco”), 3.5 percent were invalid. The number of valid votes fell slightly compared to 2018 from 94.4 to 90.3 percent.

Opposition groups described the election in the one-party system as a “farce” and called for people not to vote. Opposition election observer groups criticized, among other things, the extension of the voting time by one hour without stating reasons of force majeure, as well as the usual possibility for sick and elderly people to vote from home. There is no postal voting in Cuba. In addition, some activists were denied access to the polling station during the public counting of the ballot papers.

According to reports in the Cuban media, the election day passed quietly and without any particular events. Unlike the local elections last November, there were no major restrictions on social media during the general election. At that time, the US meta-group blocked the website of the largest state news platform “Cubadebate” for election day without giving reasons.

After its constitution on April 19, the National Assembly will elect the 23-member Council of State and the President, following which it will appoint the Prime Minister on the President’s nomination. It is considered likely that Diaz-Canel will seek a second term. (America21)