Elections Suspended over Hurricane Damage

HAVANA TIMES – A second round of municipal elections scheduled for Sunday morning, has been suspended while authorities face the situation after Hurricane Sandy hit the island on Thursday.

While investigations continue to determine the damage caused from Hurricane Sandy in eastern Cuba, the civil defense authorities declared a state of alert on Friday afternoon for the western and central provinces due to persistent heavy rains that can cause flooding.

Despite Sandy having moved far to the north, threatening the eastern US coastline, the effects are still being felt on the island.

Last Sunday, the Cuban population went to the polls to elect neighborhood delegates from across the country. The postponed second round is for the 9.7 percent of the constituencies where no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.

According to official data, a total of 94.21 percent of the 8.5 million voters went to cast his ballot on October 21^st. Of these, 4.97% were blank and 4.45% void.