First modification:
Cubans went to the polls on Sunday, November 27, to elect the 12,427 councilors of the municipal assemblies, who will later propose important political positions in the country. A high abstentionism without reference since the Revolution marked the day, as well as the null and blank votes. Over the last few weeks, opposition leaders have campaigned to prevent voters from going to the polls, in protest of the difficult situation on the island.
The Cuban National Electoral Council (CEN) reported this Monday that of the 8.3 million citizens who were authorized to vote, 68.58% went to the polls, representing 31.42% abstention. This is a record in the Caribbean country.
Despite the fact that the electoral authorities extended the electoral day by one hour, the results were not as expected. For her part, Alina Balseiro, president of the CEN, assured that the voting took place without any disputes and “in accordance with the law.”
The statements were made by the CEN president during a press conference on Monday, after receiving complaints from opponents and activists, who assured that they were not allowed to act as observers.
The NGO Electoral Transparency requested an independent audit, “given that a much higher abstention rate was reported than in the referendum on the Family Code” and assured “that the figures announced by the CEN are incontrovertible.”
🇨🇺🗳️ Electoral Transparency urges the National Electoral Council (CEN) of #Cuba to allow an independent audit of the results.
Although the CEN announced the highest abstention (31%) since 1976, reports say that it was even higher.
💻Communiqué: https://t.co/9IepRoUt77 pic.twitter.com/OKmOt41dYq
— Electoral Transparency (@TransparenciaAL) November 28, 2022
Abstention has increased in Cuba over the years
The figures are striking for having the highest abstention percentage in the history of Cuba since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.
With Fidel Castro in power, the abstention figure did not exceed 5%, but after his brother Raúl Castro assumed the presidency of the country, the trend changed considerably.
For the 2017 municipal elections, abstention reached 14%, while the referendum to approve a new code for families, held in September of this year, left as a result 25% of voters who did not attend to exercise their right to vote.
In addition to abstention, invalid and blank votes totaled 10.89%, another unprecedented figure since the first municipal votes, held in 1976.
Abstention as a form of protest
Of the more than 26,000 candidates who stood in these elections, 70% of them belong to the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) or the Union of Young Communists, which maintain the political tradition of the Government.
In addition, for many Cubans these elections do not represent decisive elections, since according to the law of that country, the municipalities are not autonomous, their authorities are not elected by direct vote and the majority belongs to the PCC, the only legal party.
“It is very illustrative to see in perspective – even if it is slow – how in the last elections in Cuba the number of people who openly abstained is increasing. That is also a form of protest,” said Julio Llópiz-Casal, champion of a campaign for abstention, the null and blank vote for these elections.
During the last days, the state media have clashed with the independents, which operate outside the island, since they assure that the Government dominates the elections; these were also involved in the campaign for abstentionism.
This type of campaign was strongly criticized by the foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, who nevertheless assured that “they do not make a dent in the Cuban people” after casting his vote on Sunday. He also emphasized that the participation in a national referendum could not be compared with that in an election of municipal delegates.
For this type of voting, electoral campaigns are prohibited, the names of the candidates are exposed in the meeting points of the constituency, without the possibility of presenting their proposals.
Municipal elections, starting point of national politics
The municipal elections on the island result in the creation of the so-called Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, which are later in charge of electing part of the members of the National Assembly (parliament). They make up the Candidacy Commissions, which is in charge of proposing half of the delegates of the Legislative Branch.
Currently, Cuba is submerged in an unprecedented economic crisis, which has caused shortages of food, medicine and fuel, as well as the increase in constant blackouts of the electrical service.
In addition, opposition to the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel has been reduced since the widespread protests of July 2021, in which hundreds of opponents were tried and imprisoned, while others preferred to go into exile.
With EFE, Reuters and local media
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