2023 Cuban parliamentary election explained

Country:Cuba
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:2018 Cuban parliamentary election
Previous Year:2018
Next Election:2028 Cuban parliamentary election
Next Year:2028
Election Date:26 March 2023
Seats For Election:All 470 seats in the
National Assembly of People's Power
Image1:Miguel Díaz-Canel 2019.jpg
Leader1:Miguel Díaz-Canel
Party1:Communist Party of Cuba
Seats1:470
Prime Minister
Before Election:Manuel Marrero Cruz
Before Party:Communist Party of Cuba
Posttitle:Elected
Prime Minister
After Election:Manuel Marrero Cruz
After Party:Communist Party of Cuba

Parliamentary elections were held in Cuba on 26 March 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly of People's Power.[1]

Background

In the 2018 parliamentary elections, 80% of voters voted for the full list and only 20% selected individual candidates.[2]

Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeded Raúl Castro, brother of Fidel Castro, as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba on 19 April 2021, marking the end of the Castro era in Cuba.[3]

Electoral system

See main article: Elections in Cuba. Voters must be Cuban citizens who have reached the age of 16 years, have not been declared mentally disabled by a court and have not committed a crime.[4] All Cuban citizens who are at least 18 years of age and have possessed full political rights for at least five years prior to the elections are eligible to contest the elections.[5]

Pre-candidates are proposed by the mass organizations at plenary sessions at the municipal, provincial and national level consisting of representatives of workers, youth, women, students, farmers and members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.[5] [6] Candidacy commissions at each level, whose members are chosen by these mass organizations and presided over by a representative of the Central Union of Cuban Workers, compile the lists of candidates for each municipality from the pre-candidate proposals.[6]

The final list of candidates, which corresponds to the number of seats to be filled, is drawn up by the National Candidature Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values and revolutionary history. The municipal assemblies vote to either approve or reject some or all of the candidates; if a candidate is rejected, one is chosen from a reserve list also compiled by the National Candidature Commission.[6] Up to 50% of candidates nominated may be municipal assembly delegates.

To be declared elected, candidates must obtain more than 50% of the valid votes cast in the constituency in which they are running. If this is not attained, the seat in question remains vacant unless the Council of State decides to hold a second round of voting.

Results

Preliminary results showed that all 470 proposals that made up the candidacy were ratified by more than half of the valid votes cast by the population.[7]

The election had a higher turnout than its predecessors, with 1.8% more participation compared to the 2022 Cuban Family Code referendum (74.12%) and 7.36% more than the municipal elections (68.56%). 6,164,876 Cuban citizens, which represents 75.92% of the total registered voters, voted in the election.

The elections also had an abstention rate of 24%, rising from 9% in 2013 and 16% in 2018. Some analysts have said that the figure represents the discontent some Cubans have with the economic crisis as well as a rise in political apathy.[8] Further, the proportion of voters selecting specific candidates on the ballot rather than approving the entire list rose to almost 28%, more than 8% higher than the amount that had done so in 2018. This could indicate that voters are more skeptical of the party as a whole, while still supporting individual approved candidates.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cuba To Choose New Legislature Next Year. Barrons. 1 December 2022. 18 March 2023. 15 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230215215757/https://www.barrons.com/news/cuba-to-choose-new-legislature-next-year-01669931106. live.
  2. http://www.granma.cu/file/pdf/2018/03/19/G_2018031905.pdf El voto de Cuba socialista
  3. News: Reuters. 10 April 2020. End of the Castro era: Diaz-Canel becomes Cuban Communist Party chief. 21 April 2021. The Straits Times. 4 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220604071952/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/end-of-the-castro-era-diaz-canel-becomes-cuban-communist-party-chief. live.
  4. Web site: Cuban Constitution. 13 April 2018. 14 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180414091730/http://www.constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/Cuba%20Constitution.pdf. live.
  5. Web site: CUBA (Asamblea nacional del Poder popular): Electoral system. Inter-Parliamentary Union. 13 April 2018. 8 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180308143122/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2079_B.htm. live.
  6. Web site: Road to the elections of deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power . TxT . cubadebate.cu . 1 May 2023.
  7. Web site: Elecciones nacionales en Cuba con alta participación popular . 2023-03-28 . Granma.cu . 27 March 2023 . es.
  8. Web site: Voter abstention rises in Cuban National Assembly election . AP News . 2023-03-28 . 2023-03-28.
  9. Web site: Morris . Emily . March 30, 2023 . Cuban election: high turnout despite opposition call for boycott . 2023-04-02 . The Conversation . en.