National Assembly of People's Power
National Assembly of People's Power Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular | ||
---|---|---|
10th Legislature | ||
President | Esteban Lazo Hernández since 24 February 2013 | |
Vice president | Ana María Marí Machado since 2013 | |
Structure | ||
Seats | 470 | |
Political groups | Communist Party of Cuba and its affiliates
| |
Elections | ||
El Capitolio, Havana | ||
Website | ||
www |
Cuba portal |
The National Assembly of People's Power (
Liberal democracy is not practiced in Assembly elections in post-1959 revolutionary Cuba because the ruling Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) government does not permit competitive elections.[4][5] Cuba is a one-party state, with the PCC being described as the "superior driving force of the society and the state" in the Constitution of Cuba, and all other political parties are illegal.[5] There is only one candidate for each seat in the Assembly, and all candidates are nominated by committees that are firmly controlled by the PCC.[6][7] Voters can either select individual candidates on their ballot, select every candidate, or leave every question blank, but voters have no option to vote against candidates.[8][9] During the 2013 elections, around 80% of voters selected every candidate for the Assembly on their ballot, while 4.6% of voters submitted a blank ballot; no candidate for the Assembly has ever lost an election in Cuban history.[10]
Overview
The Assembly is a
Under the
History
During the existence of the
The Assembly originated from the nationwide elections held in 1976 following the ratification of the
Elections
- See main article: Elections in Cuba
The assembly representatives are elected from each district across Cuba every five years. Half of the candidates are nominated at public meetings before gaining approval from electoral committees, while the other half are nominated by public solidarity organizations (such as
In keeping with the provisions of the Constitution, the Assembly itself elects the 31 members of the Council of State; their terms expire when a new Assembly is elected. The assembly elects the President and Vice President of the Republic, and also the Secretary of the Council of State, who must report to the National Assembly on all its work and tasks. It also elects the Prime Minister and the members of the
In concordance with the 2018-19 amendments to the Constitution, by right the President of the National Assembly is president of the Council of State ex officio, with the first vice president of the Council exercising his or her duties if absent. If absent from the duties of the presidency of the Assembly, the Vice President of the National Assembly serves the office.
Composition
Up to 50% of the candidates must be chosen by the Municipal Assemblies. The 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 Defense of the Revolution, after initial mass meetings soliciting a first list of names. The final list of candidates is drawn up by the National Candidature Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values, and revolutionary history.[11][12]
Legislatures
Legislature | Years | President | Vice president | Secretary |
---|---|---|---|---|
I Legislature | 1976–1981 | Blas Roca Calderío |
Raúl Roa |
José Arañaburu García |
II Legislature | 1981–1986 | Flavio Bravo Pardo | Jorge Lezcano Pérez | |
III Legislature | 1986–1993 | Flavio Bravo Pardo (1986–d. 1987) Severo Aguirre del Cristo (1987–d. 1990) Juan Escalona Reguera (1990–1993) |
Severo Aguirre del Cristo (1986–d. 1990) Zoila Benitez de Mendoza (1990–1993) |
Ernesto Suárez Méndez |
IV Legislature | 1993–1998 | Ricardo Alarcón | Jaime Crombet Hernández-Baquero | |
V Legislature | 1998–2003 | |||
VI Legislature |
2003–2008 | |||
VII Legislature | 2008–2013 | Jaime Crombet Hernández-Baquero (2008–2012) Ana María Marí Machado (2012–2013) |
Miriam Brito Saroca | |
VIII Legislature | 2013–2018 | Esteban Lazo Hernández | Ana María Marí Machado | |
IX Legislature | 2018–2023 | Homero Acosta Álvarez |
See also
- Congress of Cuba, bicameral legislature of Cuba 1902–1958
- Politics of Cuba
- List of legislatures by country
Notes
- ^ Candidates for Cuba's parliamentary elections are nominated and supported by their local Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. Municipal assemblies then create a final list of candidates from the nominations and submit it to the National Candidacy Commission, which approves or rejects candidates based on criteria set by the Communist Party of Cuba.[1]
References
- ISBN 978-0-7425-2565-8. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1976, Article 89: "The Council of State is the body of the National Assembly of People's Power that represents it in the period between sessions, puts its resolutions into effect and complies with all the other duties assigned by the Constitution. It is collegiate and for national and international purposes it is the highest representative of the Cuban state."
- ^ "Cuba: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Hyde, Susan D. (2011). The Pseudo-Democrat's Dilemma: Why Election Observation Became an International Norm. Cornell University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-8014-6125-5.
- Galvis, Ángela Fonseca; Superti, Chiara (3 October 2019). "Who wins the most when everybody wins? Predicting candidate performance in an authoritarian election". Democratization. 26 (7): 1278–1298. S2CID 197727359.
- Domínguez, Jorge I.; Galvis, Ángela Fonseca; Superti, Chiara (2017). "Authoritarian Regimes and Their Permitted Oppositions: Election Day Outcomes in Cuba". Latin American Politics and Society. 59 (2): 27–52. S2CID 157677498.
- Domínguez, Jorge I. (2021). "The Democratic Claims of Communist Regime Leaders: Cuba's Council of State in a Comparative Context". Communist and Post-Communist Studies. 54 (1–2): 45–65. S2CID 236365630.
- Hyde, Susan D. (2011). The Pseudo-Democrat's Dilemma: Why Election Observation Became an International Norm. Cornell University Press. p. 123.
- ^ a b "Cuba: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- S2CID 159138096.
- S2CID 149575921.
- S2CID 157677498.
- ISBN 978-0-9704916-2-6.
- S2CID 197727359.
- ^ CUBA, Asamblea nacional del Poder popular (National Assembly of the People's Power), Electoral system IPU PARLINE database
- ^ Elections and Events 1991-2001 Archived 22 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine UCSD Libraries
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)