Cuba Convenes Municipal Elections
Cuba on Monday convened municipal elections, in which the ruling party allegedly ensures that no opposition candidates even run for office.
The voting will be April 19, with runoffs a week later where needed, said the Council of State, the highest body in the government.
Candidates are chosen by a show of hands in neighborhood assemblies. Municipal voting is held every two and a half years.
Cuban authorities call the system democratic and transparent.
But opposition leaders call it a farce, arguing that although the ruling Communist Party does not field candidates, it oversees the process. And with its influence and the vote of its members and supporters, the ruling party ensures that no dissident even runs for office, opponents say.
The next elections for provincial assemblies and the national parliament are scheduled for 2017.
Source: Agence France Presse
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