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This page contains the full text of the PARLINE database entry on the selected parliamentary chamber, with the exception of Specialized bodies modules which, because of their excessive length, can be only viewed and printed separately.

Parliament name (generic / translated) Asamblea nacional del Poder popular / National Assembly of the People's Power More photos  >>> Structure of parliament Unicameral Affiliation to the IPU Yes Affiliation date(s) 1925 - 1933 1977 - LEADERSHIP President Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada (M)  Secretary General Miriam Brito Sarroca (F)  COMPOSITION Members (statutory / current number) 614 / 614 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN More statistics  >>> Women (current number) 265 (43.16%) Mode of designation Directly elected 614 Term 5 years Last renewal dates 20 January 2008 (View details) CONTACT INFORMATION Address Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular Calle 42 No.2308 e/ 23 y 25, Playa CIUDAD HABANA (Export mailing lists) Phone (537) 29 0451 29 1009 24 1821 24 2048 Fax (537) 204 1087 E-mail anpp@ceniai.inf.cu anppri3@net.cu Website http://www.parlamentocubano.cu/

Parliament name (generic / translated) Asamblea nacional del Poder popular / National Assembly of the People's Power Structure of parliament Unicameral LEGAL FRAMEWORK Electoral law 15 August 1982 Last amendment: 29/10/1992 Mode of designation Directly elected 614 Constituencies According to the Electoral Law, there is one Deputy for every 20,000 inhabitants or fraction above 10,000 in each of the country's 169 municipalities. These are divided into units, which are delimited according to population. There is a minimum of one unit for a constituency of up to 399 inhabitants and a maximum of eight for constituencies of more than 2,800 inhabitants. Voting system Majority: Direct voting with absolute majority system. To be declared elected, each candidate must obtain more than 50% of the valid votes cast in the constituency in which he or she is running. If this is not attained, the seat in question remains vacant unless the Council of State decides to hold another election. Vacancies between elections are filled through by-elections. Voting is not compulsory. Voter requirements - age: 16 years - Cuban citizenship - residence in country for at least two years prior to elections - disqualifications: insanity, court-declared incapacity, detention, deprivation of political rights CANDIDATES Eligibility Qualified electors - age: 18 years - Cuban citizenship - full possession of political rights for at least five years prior to elections Incompatibilities (data unavailable) Candidacy requirements - according to law, up to 50% of the Deputies must be delegates chosen in each municipality. Parliamentary candidates are otherwise proposed by nominating assemblies which comprise representatives of workers, youth, women, students and farmers as well as members of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution. The final list of candidates, which corresponds to the number of seats to be filled, is drawn up by the National Candidature Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values and revolutionary history.

Parliament name (generic / translated) Asamblea nacional del Poder popular / National Assembly of the People's Power Structure of parliament Unicameral BACKGROUND Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 20 January 2008 Timing and scope of renewal Elections were held for all seats in the National Assembly of the People's Power on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. The main issue in the January 2008 elections was whether President Fidel Castro would seek re election as Head of State. Mr. Castro, who is 81, had led Cuba since 1959, but handed over control of the government to his younger brother, Raúl, following surgery in July 2006. The National Assembly of the People's Power, the unicameral Parliament of Cuba, elects the 31 member Council of State, whose President is also the leader of the country. At stake in the 2008 elections were 614 seats in the National Assembly of the People's Power. The number of seats was increased from 609 due to an increase in the population. As in previous elections, a minimum of two candidates per constituency were nominated by municipal assemblies. Voters were asked to vote for either the full list or each candidate individually in their constituency. In order to be elected, candidates need to secure at least half of the valid votes. Election campaigning is forbidden in the country. On the polling day, President Castro sent a message to Cubans announcing that he had cast an absentee ballot and urged them to vote massively. Although voting is not compulsory, turnout has been traditionally high. In the 2008 elections, 96.89 per cent of the 8.4 million registered voters turned out at the polls. A total of 91 per cent of voters approved the full list of candidates, while others opted to vote selectively for some but not all candidates. All 614 candidates were elected. Mr. Raúl Castro was elected with the highest score - 99.4 per cent of the votes - surpassing his elder brother by one percentage point. Among the 614 newly elected members, 265 were women, while 385 were first timers. 56 per cent of them were born after the 1959 Revolution. The average age of the newly elected members is 49 years. On 19 February, Mr. Fidel Castro announced in the official Communist Party paper that he would not seek a new presidential term, but would retain his seat in parliament. The newly elected Assembly held its first session on 24 February and re-elected Mr. Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada as its Speaker. On the same day, the National Assembly of the People's Power elected the 31 members of the Council of State. Mr. Raúl Castro was unanimously elected as President of the Council of State. STATISTICS Voter turnout Round no 1 20 January 2008 Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes 8'231'365 (96.89%) 392'007 7'839'358 Notes Distribution of votes Round no 1 Political group Candidates Votes % of votes Distribution of seats Round no 1 Political Group Total of seats Distribution of seats according to sex Men Women Percent of women 349 265 43.16% Distribution of seats according to age Distribution of seats according to profession Production and service activities Delegates to Local People's Power Bodies Political party officials Students and mass Organization officials Members of the State and Government Members of the Armed Force and the Ministry of Int Writers and artists Research activities Other administrative officials Journalism, broadcasting, media Sports Others Pensioners Religious Institutions representatives 175 130 54 51 51 43 26 25 18 16 10 6 5 4 Comments National Assembly of the People's Power (05.02.2009) Embassy of Cuba, UK (30.01.2008) Distribution of seats according to age Under 35 years: 54 36 to 40 years: 58 41 to 50 years: 236 51 to 60 years: 149 Over 61 years: 117

Parliament name (generic / translated) Asamblea nacional del Poder popular / National Assembly of the People's Power Structure of parliament Unicameral APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE Title National Assembly of the People's Power Term - duration: 5 years (term of House) - reasons for interruption of the term: resignation, death, loss of parliamentary seat Appointment - elected by all Members of the Assembly - election held after the validation of mandates and swearing-in Eligibility - all MPs must formally be candidates - candidatures must be presented to the Assembly at the sitting devoted to the election and must be approved by the Assembly Voting system - formal vote by secret ballot - vote by simple majority - in case of a tie in the first round, a second round of voting is held Procedures / results - the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission presides over the Assembly during the voting - the National Electoral Commission supervises the voting - the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission announces the results without any delay - the results may be challenged in case of irregularity STATUS Status - represents the Assembly with the public authorities - represents the Assembly in international bodies - in the absence of the President, the Vice-President can assume his/her role and functions Board Material facilities - salary FUNCTIONS Organization of parliamentary business - convenes sessions - establishes and modifies the agenda - organizes the debates and sets speaking time - examines the admissibility of bills and amendments - refers texts to a committee for study - examines the admissibility of requests for setting up committees and/or committees of enquiry, proposes or decides on the setting-up of such committees - may appoint committees and/or their Chairpersons Chairing of public sittings - can open, adjourn and close sittings - ensures respect for provisions of the Constitution and Standing Orders - makes announcements concerning the Assembly - is responsible for discipline inside the Assembly - establishes the list of speakers, gives and withdraws permission to speak - establishes the order in which amendments are to be taken up - calls for a vote, decides how it is to be carried out, verifies the voting procedure and cancels a vote in the event of irregularities - checks the quorum - authenticates the texts adopted and the records of debates - interprets the rules or other regulations governing the life of the Assembly - has discretionary power to give the floor outside the agenda and thus organizes impromptu debates Special powers - oversees the execution of the Assembly's budget - recruits, assigns and promotes staff - the Assembly appoints the Clerk - is responsible for relations with foreign Parliaments - is responsible for safety, and in this capacity, can call the police in the event of disturbance in the Chamber Speaking and voting rights, other functions - takes the floor in legislative debates - provides guidelines for the interpretation or completion of the text under discussion - takes part in voting - proposes bills or amendments - intervenes in the parliamentary oversight procedure - decides which bills should be discussed by the Assembly

Parliament name (generic / translated) Asamblea nacional del Poder popular / National Assembly of the People's Power Structure of parliament Unicameral NATURE Nature of the mandate · Linked representation - imperative mandate Start of the mandate · When the MPs take the oath Validation of mandates · Validation by the National Election Commission · Procedure End of the mandate · On the day when the legal term of the House ends (Art. 109 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly Can MPs resign? Yes · Yes, of their own free will · Procedure (Art. 109 to 111 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly) · Authority competent to accept the resignation: the Municipal Assembly of the People's Power of the municipality for which the deputy has been elected Can MPs lose their mandate ? Yes (a) Revocation before expiry of mandate by a Municipal Assembly (Art. 85 of the Constitution of 24.02.1976, with amendments up until 12.07.1992, Art. 93 (g) and. 114 of the Standing Orders of the Municipal Assembly) (b) Death (Art. 109 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly) (c) Illness (Art. 109 and 112 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly) STATUS OF MEMBERS Rank in hierarchy Indemnities, facilities and services · Diplomatic passport · No basic salary, only payment of expenses incurred in relation with the deputy's activity by the National Assembly (see also Art. 82 of the Constitution and Art. 91 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly) · No special pension scheme · Other facilities: Secretariat, assistants, official car, communications services for those with leadership posts (see also Art. 123 and 124 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly) Obligation to declare personal assets No Parliamentary immunity - parliamentary non-accountability · The concept does not exist Parliamentary immunity - parliamentary inviolability · The concept exists (Art. 83 of the Constitution, Art. 94 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly). · Derogations: in cases involving flagrante delicto, immunity may not be lifted. · Parliamentary inviolability does not prevent MPs from being called as witnesses before a judge or tribunal. - Competent authority: the National Assembly; the Council of State, in case of recess of the National Assembly - Procedure (Art. 83 of the Constitution, Art. 94 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly). In this case, MPs can be heard. EXERCISE OF THE MANDATE Training · There is a training/initiation process on parliamentary practices and procedures for MPs. · It is provided by the officials and directors of the Provincial Assemblies and of the National Assembly. Participation in the work of the Parliament Discipline · The rules governing discipline within Parliament are contained in the Standing Orders of the sessions of Parliament. Code (rules) of conduct · This concept does not exist in the country's juridical system but there are some relevant provisions (Art. 84 and 85 of the Constitu-tion, Art. 92 (a) and (b), Art. 93 (g) and Art. 114 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly). · Penalties foreseen for violation of the code of conduct: - Revocation (Art. 84 and 85 of the Constitution, Art. 92 (a) and (b), Art. 93 (g) and Art. 114 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly; failure to respect certain duties of MPs) · Competent body to judge such cases/to impose penalties: the corresponding Municipal Assembly · Procedure (Art. 85 of the Constitution, Art. 93 (g) and Art. 114 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly). Relations between MPs and pressure group · There are no legal provisions in this field.

This page was last updated on 27 January 2010
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