2018 Cuban parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Cuba on 11 March 2018 to elect members of the National Assembly of People's Power. Prior to the elections, President Raúl Castro declared he would not be seeking a new term, and a new President of the Council of State will be elected by the National Assembly.[1] His deputy, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was subsequently elected as the new president. However, Castro remained the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the country.[2]

2018 Cuban parliamentary election

← 2013 11 March 2018 2023 →

All 605 seats in the National Assembly of People's Power
  First party
 
Leader Raúl Castro
Party PCC

Selective votes by province

President of the Council of Ministers before election

Raúl Castro
PCC

Elected President of the Council of Ministers

Miguel Díaz-Canel
PCC

Ballot paper used in the election

Electoral system

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All Cuban citizens who are over the age of 18 years, and possess full political rights for at least five years prior to the election are eligible to partake within the election.[3] 50% of candidates must be nominated by people from the municipality and elected by direct vote in local assemblies, where people decide who they consider to have the qualities to best represent them.[4] The other 50% of candidates are proposed by candidacy commissions which comprise representatives of workers, youth, women, students, and farmers, as well as members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.[3] The final list of candidates, which corresponds to the number of seats to be filled, is drawn up by the National Candidacy Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values, and revolutionary history.[3]

Voter requirements are set within article 132 of the Cuban constitution. All voters must be Cuban citizens who have reached the age of 16 years, who have not been declared mentally disabled by a court, and who have not committed a crime.[5] The electoral system is designed to give the winner of the election a majority. To be declared elected, one candidate 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.[3]

Results

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On 12 March, the Cuba National Election Commission (CNE) released preliminary results.[6] In a press conference, the CNE reported that all 605 candidates had been elected as Deputies to the National Assembly.[6] Selective votes refer to voters who voted for either their National Assembly Deputy, or their Provincial Representative, but not both.

 
PartyVotes%Seats
Communist Party of Cuba and affiliated (entire list)5,620,71380.44605
Communist Party of Cuba and affiliated (selective votes)1,366,32819.56
Total6,987,041100.00605
Valid votes6,987,04194.42
Invalid votes92,8941.26
Blank votes319,9564.32
Total votes7,399,891100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,639,98985.65
Source: Granma

By province

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Province Registered
voters
Votes cast Valid votes Blank Invalid Full list Selective votes
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Pinar del Río 452,557 406,119 89.74 379,920 93.55 23,006 5.66 3,193 0.79 305,462 80.40 74,458 19.60
Artemisa 393,143 350,063 89.04 324,559 92.71 18,907 5.40 6,597 1.88 255,543 78.74 69,016 21.26
La Habana 1,685,651 1,339,335 79.46 1,249,381 93.28 59,786 4.46 30,168 2.25 927,031 74.20 322,350 25.80
Mayabeque 296,126 268,505 90.67 250,362 93.24 12,775 4.76 5,368 2.00 204,511 81.69 45,851 18.31
Matanzas 561,179 475,331 84.70 451,222 94.93 17,920 3.77 6,189 1.30 346,461 76.78 104,761 23.22
Villa Clara 611,358 534,310 87.40 501,251 93.81 25,839 4.84 7,220 1.35 411,103 82.02 90,148 17.98
Cienfuegos 311,355 267,999 86.08 248,235 92.63 15,199 5.67 4,565 1.70 190,965 76.93 57,270 23.07
Sancti Spíritus 366,885 327,047 89.14 310,411 94.91 13,418 4.10 3,218 0.98 257,337 82.90 53,074 17.10
Ciego de Ávila 337,785 287,988 85.26 272,968 94.78 12,130 4.21 2,890 1.00 218,873 80.18 54,095 19.82
Camagüey 591,944 504,258 85.19 481,600 95.51 17,989 3.57 4,669 0.93 375,618 77.99 105,982 22.01
Las Tunas 404,948 353,654 87.33 337,536 95.44 13,430 3.80 2,688 0.76 283,174 83.89 54,362 16.11
Holguín 785,047 668,636 85.17 625,983 93.62 36,099 5.40 6,554 0.98 529,379 84.57 96,604 15.43
Granma 629,155 555,399 88.28 529,381 95.32 21,680 3.90 4,338 0.78 461,487 87.17 67,894 12.83
Santiago de Cuba 781,000 683,462 87.51 660,473 96.64 19,966 2.92 3,023 0.44 554,642 83.98 105,831 16.02
Guantánamo 368,864 321,155 87.07 309,834 96.47 9,559 2.98 1,762 0.55 256,748 82.87 53,086 17.13
Isla de la Juventud 62,992 56,630 89.90 53,925 95.22 2,253 3.98 452 0.80 42,379 78.59 11,546 21.41
Total 8,639,989 7,399,891 85.65 6,987,041 94.42 319,956 4.32 92,894 1.26 5,620,713 80.44 1,366,328 19.56
Source: Granma

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Castro to stand down in 2018". Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  2. ^ "Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party until 2021". FRANCE 24. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018. "I confirm to this assembly that Raul Castro, as first secretary of the Communist Party, will lead the decisions about the future of the country," Diaz-Canel said.
  3. ^ a b c d "IPU PARLINE database: CUBA (Asamblea nacional del Poder popular), Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  4. ^ August, Arnold (2013). Cuba and its neighbours: Democracy in motion. Canada: Fernwood Publishing.
  5. ^ "Cuban Constitution" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b Redacción Digital (2018-03-12). "National Electoral Commission releases preliminary data › Cuba › Granma - Official voice of the PCC". En.granma.cu. Retrieved 2018-04-20.