Photo: cadenagramonte.cu

During the extraordinary sessions of the country’s 168 Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, the candidates for provincial delegates and deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power (Cuban Parliament, ANPP) were approved, in a democratic exercise of the entire people, marking a further stage of the general elections process underway in Cuba, which will conclude April 19.

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, was nominated Sunday, January 21, as a candidate for deputy to the ANPP by the municipality of Segundo Frente, in the province of Santiago de Cuba, during the extraordinary session of the Municipal Assembly, held at the Andes Theater in Mayarí Arriba.

The nomination of Raúl was unanimously approved by the 79 delegates who, elected by the people in their respective constituencies, are part of this governing body.

Other individuals with outstanding revolutionary and labor careers were chosen as candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power.

Meanwhile, José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and a vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, was nominated as a candidate for deputy to the ANPP by electoral district number 2 of the municipality of Guantánamo.

In extraordinary sessions, a total of 75 candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly and 31 deputies to the ANPP were nominated in the ten Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power in the province of Guantánamo, who will now hold meetings to interact with constituents in neighborhoods, workplaces and schools, cooperatives, and military units.

This process is an expression of the commitment of our people to the leaders of the historic generation who made the Revolution, stated Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers.

The member of the Party Central Committee Political Bureau also participated in the extraordinary session of the Santa Clara Municipal Assembly of People’s Power, in Villa Clara province, where a total of 25 candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly and 12 deputies to the National Assembly were elected, among whom he was one of the nominees.

The Santa Clara Municipal Assembly of People's Power voted to nominate current First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. Photo: Radio Reloj

Among the proposed candidates are people we have seen grow as human beings and in the responsibilities they have undertaken, and there are compañeros who have dedicated their lives to the Revolution. It also noteworthy that there are many young people born after January 1, 1959, representing a range of trusted men and women of the people, expressed Díaz-Canel.

According to Esteban Lazo Hernández, current ANPP president, the next legislature of the Cuban Parliament will have a significant responsibility in the continuity of the development of the economic and social model, within the context of the historic moment that the country is experiencing.

The member of the Party Central Committee Political Bureau participated in the first extraordinary session of the Arroyo Naranjo Municipal Assembly of People’s Power, in Havana, in which he was ratified as a candidate for deputy to the ANPP by that municipality.

Esteban Lazo Hernández was nominated by the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo. Photo: cadenagramonte.cu

In the extraordinary session of the Manzanillo Muncipal Assembly, 13 nominees were approved as candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly in Granma, and six as candidates for deputies to the ANPP.

In Las Tunas, following the exhaustive work of the Candidature Commissions at the provincial and municipal levels, 27 candidates were nominated for Parliament, of which six are already ANPP deputies, eight are provincial delegates, and 13 are municipal delegates. In the case of the Provincial Assembly, there were 75 candidates, explained Elena Chagues Leyva, president of the Candidature Commission in the province.

Elena Chagues Leyva, secretary general of the Cuban Workers Federation in the province, headed the candidature commission in Las Tunas. Photo: Jorge Pérez Cruz

The approved candidates for deputies of the fourteen Municipal Assemblies People’s Power in Holguín represent a mixture of young people, workers, campesinos, and members of different institutions.

In the case of the candidates for the Provincial Assembly, the presence of women predominates, in addition to the fact that 78% of the 103 nominees have completed higher education.

Meanwhile, in Camagüey, the nominee candidates include teachers, doctors, lawyers, workers, campesinos, students, combatants, journalists, artists, researchers, leaders, and innovators, all with merits and relevant accomplishments in their respective professions and, above all, a commitment to serving the people.

Starting from an initial 929 persons proposed in the plenary sessions of mass organizations in this municipality, the municipal candidature commission presented before the extraordinary session a selection of 33 nominees as provincial delegate candidates and 16 for deputies to the National Assembly.

“This Revolution is so great that here we see, on equal terms, a minister and a pre-university student,” stated delegate Ángel Aguilera, of the América Latina People's Council of this city, noting his agreement with the proposals presented.

From Ciego de Ávila, Jorge Luis Delgado, who has served as a delegate for several terms in the capital city of this province, said that those who are elected in March will have the highest responsibility, for a period of five years, to ensure that the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution are met, materialized in the work of entities and organizations.

Meanwhile, in Sancti Spíritus, after an exhaustive consultation process, the eight municipal assemblies supported the proposals of 25 candidates for ANPP deputies and 76 for delegates to the Provincial Assembly.

Featuring among the candidates are municipal delegates, campesinos, production workers, representatives of the labor movement, political and administrative leaders, educators and intellectuals, all from a large shortlist representing an abundance of work and professional preparation.

In the extraordinary sessions of the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power in the province of Cienfuegos, a total of 75 candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly and 23 for deputies to the National Assembly were nominated.

Meanwhile, delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power in the province of Matanzas nominated 75 candidates for delegates to the Provincial Assembly and 42 for deputies to the Cuban Parliament.

José Joaquín Pérez Ortiz, president of the Candidature Commission in the territory, highlighted the political qualities of each of the candidates selected in the Municipal Assembly extraordinary sessions, 40% of which are women and who represent all sectors of Matanzas society.

The eleven municipalities of Mayabeque province also held extraordinary sessions in this second stage of the 2017-2018 general elections.

In the municipality of Güines, candidates for provincial delegates and ANPP deputies were chosen in the presence of Salvador Valdés Mesa, Party Political Bureau member and a vice president of the Council of State, who was proposed as a candidate for deputy to the Cuban parliament.

In Artemisa province, 26 candidates for ANPP deputies and 75 for provincial delegates were nominated, with 96.28% attendance of municipal delegates. Beginning Monday, January 22, the biographies of candidates began to be circulated in the 672 constituencies of this province, as well as in certain workplaces.

DSc Efraín Echevarría, one of the 75 selected candidates for delegate to the Provincial Assembly of Pinar del Río, noted that this process is an example of democracy and shows the unity of the Cuban people.

The Isle of Youth Municipal Assembly of People’s Power delegates nominated four candidates for ANPP deputies. The territory, which has the status of Special Municipality, does not have a Provincial Assembly, and therefore only nominates candidates to the Cuban parliament, unlike other municipalities of the country.

Through the publication and circulation of photos and biographies, and their upcoming exchanges with voters, the people will learn about the careers and qualities of their candidates, before voting for their choices in the elections on March 11.