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Some Distinguishing Features of Cuba's Electoral System

A major distinguishing feature of Cuba's electoral system is how candidate selection takes place and the importance it is given. Candidates are not chosen by a political party as is the case in so many countries that claim to be democratic but have virtually eliminated any role for the people other than voting for candidates they had no part in selecting and perhaps serving as foot soldiers to distribute campaign materials prepared by a marketing firm to "sell" a given party's candidate to electors who have been micro-targeted.

Candidate Selection

In Cuba candidates are selected through a rigorous, inclusive process starting at the grassroots level, with proposals for pre-candidates put forward in plenary sessions of the mass and student organizations to which 90 per cent of Cubans belong -- the Cuban Workers' Federation, Cuban Women's Federation, the Federations of University Students and of Middle Level Education Students, the National Association of Small Farmers and neighbourhood Committees in Defence of the Revolution. Members of these organizations are not restricted to proposing only people from their own organizations.

The proposals received (in this election there were over 19,000) then pass to candidacy commissions, made up of representatives of the aforementioned organizations and headed by the Cuban Workers' Federation. The commissions in each municipality analyze the biographies of the proposed candidates and prepare their own draft proposals from among the names they have received after reviewing and deliberating on them one by one, coming up with a smaller pool of pre-candidates (just over 4,100 in this election). Eventually, a slate of pre-candidates corresponding to the number of deputies to be elected in each electoral district, is presented to the delegates in each of the country's 169 Municipal Assemblies of People's Power for their consideration and approval (or rejection) through votes taken on each of the pre-candidates. New pre-candidates are proposed to them by the candidacy commissions for any that are rejected. Nationwide, this involves some 12,000 municipal delegates, all recently elected themselves, confirming the nomination of 470 people to fill the same number of seats in the National Assembly. The electoral law adopted in 2019 calls for there to be one deputy for every 30,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 15,000. Those nominated are expected, as a group, to reflect as closely as possible the current diverse makeup of Cuban society. Electors have the option of voting for all candidates named on the ballot for their electoral district, for some of them, or just one. To be elected, candidates must receive over 50 per cent of the votes cast by their constituents in a secret ballot.

In explaining how candidate selection takes place in Cuba, Consuelo Baeza Martín, president of the National Candidacy Commission said the fact that the candidacy commissions are made up of mass organizations that are part of Cuban civil society strengthens a cardinal requirement of the Cuban political system, which is that the people freely and democratically propose and nominate their candidates, rather than that being the prerogative of a political party. It also ensures that candidates are ordinary people with demonstrated qualities, skills and ethics that make them suitable to carry out the responsibilities of the office of deputy in the country's highest legislative body, rather than primarily people of economic means or who are connected to the private interests that operate through political parties and the governments they form in countries like the U.S. and Canada that rail about the supposed lack of democracy in Cuba.

During one of the meetings held with people from different social sectors by the eight candidates for deputies for the municipality of Santa Clara, of which he was one, President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed the allegations of Cuba's detractors, saying that in Cuba, deputies are submitted six times to popular decision processes. "Does that happen in the United States or in any of the other countries that want to impose their democracies on us?" he asked.

No Campaigning, Election Promises, or Use of Money to Buy Votes

Another distinguishing feature of Cuba's system is that there is no campaigning for or against any candidates, or making of "election promises" by candidates. Electoral authorities must also ensure that no assets or means belonging to any candidates, their close relatives or others, that compromise their impartiality, or give rise to disagreements and discord among voters, are used in elections.

Provisions for an Informed Vote

After being confirmed, the eight candidates for Villa Clara engage in discussion with local representatives of mass organizations, February 6, 2023

In order for electors to cast an informed vote they are provided well in advance of election day with the following information together with a photograph of each candidate: their name, date of birth, sex, marital status, highest grade of schooling or post-secondary education completed, professional or trade qualifications, current occupation, place of residence, organizations they belong to, and a short description of their personal qualities and capacity that demonstrate why they are qualified to fulfil the responsibilities of a deputy. The information is prominently posted in public places as well as online. Candidates themselves meet with workers in different sectors, students and others in their constituencies to listen to their concerns and expectations and engage in discussion with them, but not to compete with one another for votes.

Once elected, deputies are not paid for performing their duties but continue receiving whatever salary they normally get for the jobs they do if they are employed. To fulfill their responsibilities, they are obliged to maintain close ties with the people, listen to their opinions, suggestions and concerns as well as to increase their own knowledge in various fields and to keep themselves informed about national and foreign events, and importantly, render accounts periodically to their constituents. The same applies to those in the highest positions of leadership, including the president, vice president and prime minister of the republic. Under Cuba's electoral law all are subject to recall before their term expires, if the circumstances warrant it.

Deputies Elect Leadership of National Assembly and of the Republic
from Among Their Peers

A rigorous process similar to the one followed for selecting candidates for deputy is set out for the nomination of candidates for the leadership of the National Assembly and of the Republic -- all of whom must be elected by their peers in the new parliament. In this election, from April 3-9, members of the National Candidacy Commission travelled throughout Cuba consulting those elected on March 26 to obtain their written proposals for deputies they would nominate to serve as president and in other leadership positions of the National Assembly, the 21-member Council of State and for president and vice president of Cuba. To be elected to any of these positions deputies must receive over 50 per cent of the vote of their peers in a secret ballot.

(Cubadebate. Photos: Cubadebate, Presidencia Cuba)

This article was published in

Volume 53 Number 4 - April 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M5300418.HTM