Municipal elections in Cuba have record abstention after opposition campaign

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Just over 5.7 million Cubans went to the polls on Sunday (27) to vote in municipal elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 68.58%, the lowest percentage since 1976, when the electoral system came into force.

The information, based on preliminary numbers, was disclosed by the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Belseiro, this Monday (28). Final numbers are expected to take at least another 48 hours to be announced.

The opposition campaigned for abstention, given the impossibility of running against candidates favorable to the regime and the Communist Party – which does not run, but supervises the elections to elect 12,427 delegates (councillors).

Despite being the lowest participation ever recorded in the country, Belseiro said, in a press conference broadcast on television, that the results “show our people’s support for their popular representatives and confidence in their revolution.”

According to her, “the elections took place as planned, with tranquility, organization, discipline and in compliance with the law.”

The electoral president informed that, of the ballots deposited in the ballot boxes, 89.11% are valid, 5.22% were blank and 5.07% were annulled. Blank ballots, or with slogans against the regime, which are annulled, are other tactics used by the opposition.

Balseiro reported that 11,502 delegates were elected on Sunday. The other 925 positions will be elected in a second round next Sunday, December 4, as none of these candidates obtained more than 50% of the votes.

Held every five years, municipal elections are one of the few opportunities for Cubans to participate directly in processes of this type. For the regime, they configure a system of grassroots democracy, with the nomination, as candidates for local assemblies, of names from each neighborhood or region.

Opposition, however, has been especially stifled since the July 11, 2021 protests, whose repression led to the trial and imprisonment of thousands of protesters, for crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to vandalism and sedition. Some migrated, and others claim they were forced into exile.

The elected councilors will now form the municipal governments and propose in 2023, among them, 50% of the candidates for the national parliament. The other half will be proposed by a commission made up of social organizations close to the regime.

The parliament will propose, in turn, the candidacies to integrate the Council of State and for the Presidency. In Cuba, the mandate is five years, with the possibility of one re-election.

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