| Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada ( M) |
| Ernesto Suarez Mendez ( M) |
Calle 42 No.2308 e/ 23 y 25, Playa
CIUDAD HABANA
Tel.: (537) 29 0451, 29 1009, 24 1821, 24 2048
Cable: ANPP 0511172
Telex: 511172 AN PP CU
Fax: (537) 204 1087
E-mail: anpp@ceniai.inf.cu
| http://www.parlamentocubano.cu/ |
1977
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.
- Cuban citizenship
- residence in country for at least two years prior to elections
- disqualifications: insanity, court-declared incapacity, detention, deprivation of political rights
- age: 18 years
- Cuban citizenship
- full possession of political rights for at least five years prior to elections
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
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, only one candidate per constituency was nominated by municipal assemblies. Voters were asked to approve or reject either the full list or each of the 614 candidates. 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 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, while retaining 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 31 members of the Council of State. Mr. Raúl Castro was unanimously elected as President of the Council of State.
| Round no 1 (20 January 2008): Election results | ||||
| Number of registered electors | ||||
| Voters | 8'231'365 (96.89%) | |||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 392'007 | |||
| Valid votes | 7'839'358 | |||
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % of votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Total of seats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- reasons for interruption of the term: resignation, death, loss of parliamentary seat
- election held after the validation of mandates and swearing-in
- candidatures must be presented to the Assembly at the sitting devoted to the election and must be approved by the Assembly
- vote by simple majority
- in case of a tie in the first round, a second round of voting is held
- 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
- represents the Assembly in international bodies
- in the absence of the President, the Vice-President can assume his/her role and functions
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
· Procedure
· 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
(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)
· 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)
· 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.
· It is provided by the officials and directors of the Provincial Assemblies and 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).
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
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