• Submitted by: admin
• Politics and Government
• 08 / 04 / 2007

In Cuba's 13th elections, all citizens over 16 years of age, except those disqualified by law for having committed a crime or being mentally disable, will exercise their right to vote.

On Oct. 21, 2007, Cubans will vote for the delegates (council people) to the People's Power Municipal Assemblies, who were previously nominated by their neighbors in their constituencies.

A second round of elections is scheduled for Oct. 28 in those districts where none of the candidates won 50 percent of the valid votes plus one.

According to the call made by the Council of State, the delegates to the People's Power Provincial Assemblies and the deputies to the National Assembly will be elected in a date that has not been set yet.

In that democratic process, citizens do not have to register because they are automatically included in the electoral roll when they turn 16.

Ruben Rodriguez, vice president of the National Election Commission (CEN), said that changes have been made this year in the electoral register, by virtue of Decree-Law 248.

He pointed out that from now on, the electoral roll will be made by the Identification and Population Register Office, where deaths, official address changes and court sentences are usually recorded.

The CEN official added that the electoral roll is always on display in a visible place, so that voters can verify the data.

Article 131 of the so-called Cuban Fundamental Law establishes the real possibility for everyone to participate in periodical elections or popular referendums.

The Electoral Law, or Law 72, of 1992, also establishes the powers of voters, as a political right enjoyed by all Cubans.

In Article 6, Chapter 2, the law says that another requisite to exercise the right to vote, in addition to the age, is to reside in the country for more than two years before elections were called.

Source: Prensa Latina