ELECTIONS+IN+CUBA

=Elections in Cuba: before and after=


 * For some people, comparisons are hateful, but in this case they are indispensable to understand why Cubans support and participate with so much enthusiasm in their governors’ election.**

By ANGEL RODRÍGUEZ ALVAREZ, A National News Agency’s Special Report

When in Cuba anyone talks about elections, words such as “before” and “after” are well defined. “Before” refers to the term between June 16, 1900, date in which first elections were held and November 4, 1958, last voting carried out under the call of Fulgencio Batista’s tyrannical government.

“After” encompasses the term of 1976-2003 with a registration of 11 electoral processes, held every two and a half years between municipal and general ones. Twelfth of this event is underway; called for next April 17, aiming to elect municipal delegates.

Throughout the first fifty eight years of the Republic, the electoral history was characterized by corruption and fraud; in fact elections were promoters of not quite a few widely known scandals and belligerent conflicts of different magnitude.

Then, it was very common to see dead people voting, ballot boxes hijacked, voters’ registration turned into merchandise, public officers and workers and their relatives urged to favor governmental candidates, under the threat of being fired.

Crimes suffered by counter-sides were daily life, soldiers and police men hindered access to electoral schools to the opposition, and there were also electoral ballots which were turned into a bartering product, useful to gain promises, regularly unaccomplished, in order to be able to register in a hospital to receive health care, or get a scholarship or just a modest job.

During the fifty years already mentioned, four **coup** **d**' **etats** took place as well as some other attempts, of course Washington was not an alien side. This is the stage in which fourteen general elections took place; eleven of them were the protagonists of shameful frauds.

With the exception of general initial elections in 1901, with two parties in the political scene, the rest of these events counted among six or thirteen parties. There was only one occasion in which the winner reached more than 50 % of votes and that took place in 1905, with Tomás Estrada Palma as a sole candidate.

But since 1909, no other President reached that figure with the support of voters’ half being registered.

In 1976, first elections were held, called after the Socialist Constitution enforcement, passed by more than the 95 % of the population in a popular referendum. In this occasion, five millions 655 thousand 837 citizens were registered, 95, 2 % of the whole figure exerted this right.

In a progressive way and as a result of the population’s growth, a bigger experience and improvement of organizing procedures, the number of electors registered and those going to the ballot boxes, has been kept higher than 97%. Year 2003, witnessed the figure of eight millions 313 thousand 770 registered people, voters were 97, 6% of the whole figure.

Now no political parties participate at any moment of the electoral process or nomination of candidates for municipal assemblies, since it is directly held with raised hands in public meetings within neighbors’ community. During candidates’ nomination, twenty nine years ago, four million 32 thousand 632 citizens participated. Year 2003, voters were eight million 112 thousand 702, representing 81, 7% of the whole figure.

Two main characteristics show the in force electoral system in Cuban the ofcnadidates'prontoe quieren ir y los tengo en la sosobra 0 registeredpeople pt higher than 97%. than the 95: popular participation in all the process’ steps and full transparency in its realization.

To the candidates’ nomination method previously mentioned, one can add universal registration, which is free and automatic for all citizens with previous publication of electoral lists.

Comfortable procedures to exert the right to vote are available for all voters since all electoral schools are located near voters’ residences and with no more than 300 of them.

There is only one requirement needed, the presentation of the I.D. There is also the electors’ right to be informed about delegates’ work and the legal faculty of requesting their mandate’s revocation.

Another important quality is the electoral campaign’s ethical and civic content, differing from the ones held before, candidates do not make propaganda in their favor. All procedure is limited to biographies and photos’ publication with equal conditions for all within residential areas of the ones being proposed, they are very well known because they are also neighbors in these localities.

Popular control at schools’ functioning and electoral tables the day of elections, guarantees full transparency of this act, since the population, including national and foreign journalists can observe ballot boxes’ sealing at the beginning of the process and ballot counting at the end.

Time elapsed since 1974-first experience in the Western province of Matanzas – and later in 1976, first national elections have experienced the improvement of the Cuban electoral system until turning it into a people’s stronghold.

Alone three decades of this system’s functioning, has allowed Cubans to make valid the principle defining democracies as the people’s power, by the people and for the people.


 * |||||| RESULTS OF ELECTIONS HELD IN CUBA FROM 1976 TO 2003 ||
 * || YEAR || ELECTORS REGISTERED || % PEOPLE VOTING ||
 * 1976 || 5 655 837 || 95,2 ||
 * 1979 || 6001 890 || 96,9 ||
 * 1981 || 6 272 189 || 97,2 ||
 * 1984 || 6 494 488 || 98.7 ||
 * 1986 || 6 865 344 || 97,7 ||
 * 1989 || 7 240 039 || 98,3 ||
 * 1992 || 7 762 958 || 97,2 ||
 * 1995 || 7 772 583 || 97,1 ||
 * 1997 || 7 952 599 || 97,5 ||
 * 2000 || 8 069 599 || 98,5 ||
 * 2003 || 8 313 770 || 97,6 ||
 * 2003 || 8 313 770 || 97,6 ||


 * PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN CUBA 1901-1958 ||
 * YEAR || QUANTITY OF ELECTORS REGISTERED || PEOPLE VOTING || % ABSTAIN || % OF ELECTORS REGISTERED VOTING FOR THE ELECTED ONE || PRESIDENT ELECTED ||
 * 1901 || 335 699 || 213 116 || 36,52 || 47,32 || Tomás Estrada Palma ||
 * 1905 || 429 730 || 317 974 || 28 01 || 71 41 || “ ||
 * 1908 || 466 745 || 331 455 || 28 99 || 43 10 || José Miguel Gómez ||
 * 1912 || - || 274 144 || - || - || Mario García Menocal ||
 * 1916 || - || - || - || - || “ ||
 * 1920 || 515 353 || 273 017 || 47 03 || 28 77 || Alfredo Zayas ||
 * 1924 || - || 336 994 || - || - || Gerardo Machado ||
 * 1928 || - || - || - || - || “ ||
 * 1936 || 1 675 813 || 1 123 848 || 32 94 || 20 48 || Miguel Mariano Gómez ||
 * 1940 || 1 936 212 || 1 421 563 || 26 59 || 41 58 || Fulgencio Batista ||
 * 1944 || 2 330 021 || 1 881 042 || 19 27 || 44 71 || Ramón Grau ||
 * 1948 || 2 506 734 || 1 972 705 || 21 31 || 36 11 || Carlos Prío Socarrás ||
 * 1954 || 2 768 186 || 1 451 763 || 47 56 || 45 61 || Fulgencio Batista ||
 * 1958 || 2 870 678 || 1 317 109 || 54 12 || 15 19 || Andrés Rivero Aguero ||
 * 1958 || 2 870 678 || 1 317 109 || 54 12 || 15 19 || Andrés Rivero Aguero ||