Big Turnout for Cuba’s Local Elections

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES – If the results from the neighborhood elections held on Sunday are a good indicator, they showed considerable support for the Castro government. According to the Electoral Council the turnout was 85.94% and of those, 91.79% cast valid ballots.

As widely publicized in the lead up, the main reasons given to vote in Cuba’s local elections were to select the candidate best suited to carry out the Communist Party directives and objectives and especially show support for Fidel and Raul Castro and the other leaders.

Potential candidates to be the neighborhood representatives who oppose the current system or leadership were not allowed to be on the ballot.

Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, president of the National Electoral Commission announced at a Monday afternoon press conference that the number of voters exceeded the previous vote in 2015 and that the number of blank ballots was 4.12%, down from 4.54%.

Likewise she noted that the annulled ballots totaled 4.07% down from 4.92% in the last elections.

In the 1,100 voting districts (of the total 12,515) where no candidate to be the neighborhood delegate received 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff.