Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

A non-Castro president

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In Cuba, the legislative elections taking place on Sunday are like nowhere else in the region. There are no advertisements. No campaign rallies. No candidates running under party banners, since they all either belong to the ruling Communist Party or are “non-affiliated” candidates who toe the party line.


The only outward sign of elections taking place are the photos and biographies of the candidates that have been displayed in public places. Candidates themselves quietly visit communities and workplaces to interact with the people.


More than 8 million Cubans are summoned to elect the 605 members of the National Assembly and 1,265 delegates to 15 provincial assemblies.


Interest in the polls is even greater than usual, with the new parliament due to convene on April 19 to elect a successor to 86-year-old President Raul Castro. The new president is expected to be the first not to belong to the Castro family since the 1959 revolution, after which Raul’s older brother Fidel took power.


“It really arouses curiosity to find out what the new president will be like,” said Havana taxi driver Ernesto Balan. Raul Castro took over provisionally when his brother’s health deteriorated in 2006, then officially became president in 2008. Fidel died eight years later at age 90.


Raul Castro announced last year that he would not seek a third term in office. His successor is widely expected to be current Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, an engineer who previously served as education minister.


Despite belonging to a post-revolution generation, Diaz-Canel is deemed unlikely to introduce far-reaching new freedoms and reforms.


Not only is he known as an advocate for continuity, but he may be limited by the presence of Castro, who will head the Communist Party until at least its next congress in 2021. Castro is also seeking a seat in parliament and is expected to continue to wield influence in the army. His government introduced economic reforms that allowed more people to run small businesses, but heavy restrictions on private entrepreneurship remain in place. Dissent is repressed to the extent that some Cubans will discuss politics with a foreigner only in a park out of earshot of others.


But many Cubans also say they appreciate the revolution’s achievements, including free education and health care as well as low-cost housing.


Havana is a safe city where homeless people or beggars are rarely seen.


The economy has been recovering from the 2016 recession, growing at an estimated 1.6 per cent in 2017, driven mainly by agriculture and tourism.— dpa


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