Second Round of Municipal Elections in Cuba Concludes
The second round of the elections of delegates to the municipal assemblies in Cuba concluded this Sunday in 1,103 districts distributed in 153 municipalities of the island.
The vice president of the Electoral Commission in Havana, José Viltres, declared that in the capital 192 people were elected to complete the 1,331 municipal delegates.
In the central province of Cienfuegos, 24 districts were held, mostly in the capital city, to select among 48 candidates.
In Granma province, the elections were held in 88 districts and culminated with 960 delegates in that territory.
Some 73,170 people were called to exercise their right to vote and complete the 668 delegates of the territory.
in Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, 112,000 people were summoned to the polls and 133 circumscriptions held the second round.
No banners. No posters. No placards. No advertisements. No slogans. No campaigning. It is Election Day in Cuba, yet I cannot see any sign of it. Some 27,000 candidates are competing for 605 seats in the Cuban National Assembly, yet I cannot see one.
It’s Sunday, Nov. 26, and there’s no sign either that yesterday was the first anniversary of the death of Cuba’s "Eternal Commander-in-Chief" Fidel Castro.
I always knew elections are different in Cuba, but never thought it was like this: no sign of people voting to select who will take seats in the National Assembly of People’s Power.
But just as me, I suspect everyone else – from any other country – who is in Cuba today, would have been equally surprised to actually have to ask whether this was "Election Day" – or if it had been postponed.
Every Cuban I approached had (basically) the same answer: "That’s how we do it here!"
The 2017 national elections were not planned for much earlier than Nov. 26. But Hurricanes Irma and Maria intervened in September.
Yet this forced postponement allowed for timing the polls on the day after the first anniversary of the death of the man who led the process of inventing Cuba’s unique electoral process.
Unlike everywhere else, parties here don’t compete for power. (Yes, there’s only one party – the Communist Party of Cuba – but it’s legally forbidden from fielding candidates.)
And candidates do not have to belong to the party. Instead, they are selected by the people, in their communities, who debate the choices between themselves – discreetly and orderly, without being canvassed or consulted by competing candidates, whose history and platforms are published in advance for easy access and scrutiny.
PCC officials explain that voting in any election here is indeed voting for Cuba, as each vote cast will help decide who will be the parliamentarians making and taking decisions for the next five years.
But how, when and where did it all start?
Some 24 years ago (in 1993), elections were constitutionalized – and Fidel had much to say to explain (to Cubans and the world) what this process would mean.
Addressing the National Assembly session that sealed the new deal to introduce elections to the revolutionary process, Fidel said: “The elections are not a popularity contest; they are, in any case, a contest of merit and a contest of ability.”
He described it as “a miracle” whereby “a humble citizen of the people, without a cent, can be elected.”
But this "miracle" was not an afterthought or based on any other template. The approach was to devise a system that suited Cuba.
In his February 23, 1993, address, Fidel said: “Fortunately, when we drew up the first Constitution, we did not copy, but rather we devised ideas about what elections should be in our country.”
He continued, “Everyone understood that our system was very democratic, in and of itself. Or, at least, it was more democratic than all the others being applied, both under socialism and under capitalism, because we had a key principle that was being expressed in concrete terms for the first time: that the people do the nominating and the electing.
“We had to create something new, something more just, something more equitable, more democratic and more pure, as our major concern was to preserve the purity of our electoral process.”
So, how does this translate?
People meet and nominate candidates – without any pressure or imposed conditions – and consider the merits of each based on their ethical values and commitment, not on how much or little money they have.
Electors can peruse candidates’ histories and biographies at public places – and even demand more information if needs be.
Voters then witness and certify that ballot boxes are empty before being sealed, as well as the counting of the votes. And it is Pioneers – primary school students – who watch over the ballot boxes while voters vote.
Electors are able to ensure their candidates are humble, modest, honest, hardworking people, to satisfy themselves that (according to Fidel) “among them [the candidates] there is not an embezzler, a thief, or someone who has become wealthy with the money of the people.”
Where else (I humbly ask) does a similar system – or even one that close – exist?
The 2017 elections to Cuba’s National Assembly was the first without Fidel Castro. But it is a process embedded in the country’s Constitution and enforced by the Party and State, in the interest of People and Country.
Those not even trying to understand that Cuba’s elections are free and fair – and held without fear – will continue to misunderstand and unfairly attack this unique democratic process, but on the basis of application of analyses and assessments that just do not fit the unique history of the Cuban Revolution.
These automatic critics will not understand that unlike elsewhere, it is not the amount of money a candidate has, or which party he or she represents, but simply his or her ability to win the confidence of individual voters – and without any external influence.
In the United States, candidates for elections to the House of Representatives or the Senate definitely need wads of money to finance their campaigns – and influence voters.
In Cuba, however, all you need is to be identified by the people in your community as someone they feel sure is honest and committed enough to truly represent them – and without the frills of money and campaign promises gift-wrapped in colorful paper not even worth its price per sheet.
Earl Bousquet is a contributor to china.org.cn, editor-at-large of The Diplomatic Courier and author of an online regional newspaper column titled, "Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler."
This is How Cubans Run, Campaign and Vote in Elections
teleSUR, November 26, 2017
https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/This-is-How-Cubans-Run-Campaign-…
Cuba is holding another election, this one for citizens to choose representatives from municipalities from over 27,000 candidates who will be competing for 605 People's Power Assembly seats.
This will be the first round of votes, the second round is on Nov. 29, and there will be a runoff election if any of the candidates don’t get a majority of votes on Dec. 3.
Over 60,800 candidate nominations were put forward by municipal councils across the country between Sept. 4 and Oct. 30, for the 168 municipal assemblies throughout the country.
The election timeline had to be modified for this year’s municipal assembly elections due to Hurricane Irma, which hit the island in early September.
Who can be a candidate?
The aspiring delegates are nominated freely by people from the municipality and elected by direct vote in each assembly, where people decide who they consider to have the qualities to best represent them.
The island's National Electoral Commission announced that 78 percent of residents participated in the selection process, about 6,746,867 voters.
According to the president of the CEN Alina Balseiro, 27,221 people fulfilled all the requirements to become candidates. Since Nov. 1, their names and biographical information were presented openly for all citizens to see.
Candidates for each municipal assembly, which together make up the National People’s Power Assembly, need to be residents from those particular municipalities.
Campaigning in Cuba
The CEN local commissions are in charge of carrying out any activity in favor of the candidacies in Cuba. They assure that the process has a deeply ethical, civic and educational content.
They also explain the importance and the right of exercising the vote, the capacity of each person to do so, the merits for candidates, and the ethical, moral and values that must be present.
In addition, the campaign will be free of any preference over one candidate or another.
Plurality
The Cuban people are in charge of proposing, choosing and promoting the candidates, through public assemblies in a sovereign process.
About 34 percent of the candidates are women, some 9,637 of them, while 19 percent are young people, about 5,307, according to the island's CEN.
Financing
All the expenses needed to run the elections are provided by the national state budget, and therefore no candidate has the need to raise money or contribute their own money to the campaign.
The Cuban electoral process doesn't allow discriminatory, offensive, defamatory or demeaning political campaigning.
No political, social or financial organization can pay for any campaign.
Information
Once the application process ends for each aspiring candidate, the commissions are in charge of publishing names, photos, biographical information and projects for all candidates in the electoral districts in which they were elected, which numbers at least 3,000.
This includes merits, capacities, and personal conditions to occupy the seat and take on the responsibilities as a delegate.
Voting
On election day, people can vote from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm local time.
Before voting, they must find which electoral commission they are subscribed in for their polling place, and its location in order to comply with their right to vote.
They must verify if they are enrolled in the voter list since in Cuba they don't need to register in order to vote. It is a universal right for everyone. If they're not on the list they can ask for their names and identity card to be listed immediately, in order to vote.
To vote, they must present their national identification document, be over 16 years old, and a permanent resident on the island for a period no less than two years before the elections
Only judicial or mental health issues, proven by a court, would be a reason to not be able to vote.
Assistance
If any person is ill or is not physically able to vote, they will be aided by another person chosen by the voter, as long as it's not a candidate on the ballot or a member of the voting center which will be helping other voters.
The blank card will be given folded and the voter will be helped to reach the cubicles to vote. If the person makes a mistake while voting, he or she has the right to ask for a new ballot after destroying the previous one.
The members of the centers need to show each elector if needed, how to cast a vote in case of they do not know. Voters will sign that they have cast their ballot after voting as a record.
If they are unable to reach the voting centers due to a physical illness, they can vote from home or another convenient place, and a member of the polling station is assigned to take the ballot to the citizen.
Transparency
Before the vote, the voters and any other person who would like to, including observers, can visually verify that the ballot boxes are empty before being sealed for the opening of the vote, and also once the vote counting is over.
After all ballots are cats, the votes are counted in public.
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