Cuban political and electoral system

The cuestionamiento to Cuban the political and electoral system, constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of the enemy campaign against our country, lidereada by the United States. The activity against Cuba in the matter of democracy and human rights, not only constitutes the main tool of the United States to try to?legitimar "its policy of hostility and aggression towards Cuba; but that also responds to the interest of the main countries capitalist industrialized to impose to the countries developing a model of political organization who facilitates the domination.

In their campaign against Cuba, Washington tries to demonstrate the mutual incompatibility of the political system that establishes the Constitution of the country with the norms internationally accepted in the matter of democracy and human rights, and to make the image of a intolerante society, that does not allow to the minimum diversity and political plurality. For it she counts on powerful instruments of propaganda and numerous resources that uses for the recruitment, organization and financing of contrarrevolucionarios grupúsculos, which presents/displays like political?oposición, as much inside as outside the country.

The manipulation of the concept of the democracy by the main western powers has reached very dangerous magnitudes recently. Those that they separate from the democratic model which they praise, of the patterns and values that they promote, they are not only put under the cuestionamiento and the demonización through the propaganda and the institutions international that control the call?defensa of the democracy, but that in addition becomes potentials?víctimas? of the intervention doctrine that develops the imperialistic powers.

Cuba defends and supports the right from the towns to the free determination, recognized internationally like an inalienable right in the consensus reached in the World-wide Conference of Human rights, celebrated in Vienna, in 1993. In the own Declaration and Program of Action of Vienna one settled down, also, that?la democracy is based on the will of the town, freely expressed, to determine his own political, economic, social and cultural regime, and in his total participation in all the aspects of the life, and the importance was recognized?de the national and regional particularitities, as well as of the diverse historical, cultural and religious patrimonies.

He is on the base of these postulates, ignored openly by those who try to impose his models like?únicos, that the Cuban political system is elevated, a model selected and defended by own Cuban, the genuinely native and authentic one, based on the equality and solidarity between the men and women, in independence, the sovereignty and social justice.

Our country either knew the model that today tries to impose to him, or lived the sad experience on the?pluripartidista system? and?representativo? that it prescribed the United States to him, and that brought like consequence the external dependency, the corruption, the illiteracy and the poverty of ample sectors of the population, racism, in summary, the complete negation of the most elementary individual and collective rights, including the right to truely free and democratic elections.

This system and the permanent North American injerencista policy, not only procreated governors corrupt thieves and, but who developed dictatorships tiránicas and killer, promoted and supported directly by the government of the United States.

By all it, the Cuban Revolution could not assume this system if truely it wanted to solve the evils inherited product of this one. Of this form, the country was involved in designing its own model, for which hurgó in its own roots and went to the social thought, preclearest patriotic humanist and of próceres of the Cuban nation.

First that would be to emphasize, then, to explain the Cuban political system, it is that our model is not concerned, was never a copy of the Soviet model nor of the existing one in the socialist countries at that moment, since they wanted to make see the enemies of the Revolution. The political system of Cuba is born and it corresponds with happening of the historical evolution of the politicosocial process of the Cuban nation, with its successes and errors, their advances and backward movements. The fact that the formation and development of the Cuban nation during his hardly 130 years of existence it has faced practically such external and internal factors, favored a coherent history, allowing to develop own the idea to construct a nation forged by the Cubans.

The existence of a single party in the Cuban system is certain, among others, by historical and contemporary factors. Our Party, is the historical continuity of the Cuban Revolutionary Party founded by Jose Martí to unite to all the town with the objective to reach the absolute independence of Cuba. Those factors that gave origin to this Party, to release to Cuba and to prevent their annexation to the United States, are such that they are present today when our town faces iron a blockade economic, commercial and financial and other hostile actions that they have like objective to demote the government and to destroy the system restored in the country by sovereign decision of all the Cubans.

Our Party develops its work by means of the persuasion, the narrow conviction and in and permanent entailment with the masses, and the decisions that it makes are solely of obligatory fulfillment for their militants. It is not an electoral party and it is prohibited to him to name candidates, but not only to participate in any other moment of the electoral process. This conception and this practice, guarantee that in a system where a single party exists, the amplest plurality of opinions is developed and prevails.

Characteristics of Cuban the political and electoral system:

1 Universal, automatic and gratuitous Inscription of all the citizens with right to the vote, as of the 16 years of age.

2 Postulation of the candidates directly by the own voters in public assemblies (in many countries those are the political parties that name the candidates).

3 Nonexistence of electoral discriminatorias, millionaires, offensives, difamatorias and manipulated campaigns.

4 Total cleaning and transparency in the elections. The ballot boxes are guarded by children and young pioneers, they have been sealed in the presence of the population, and the count of the votes for of public way, being able to participate the national and foreign press, diplomatic, tourists and all the one that wishes it.

5 Obligation of which all the elect ones are it by majority. The candidate is only elect if he obtains more from 50% of the emitted valid votes. If this result is not reached in the first return, will go to second both that more votes obtained.

6 The vote is free, equal and secret. All the Cuban citizens have the right to choose and to be chosen. Since there is list of no parties, one vows directly by the candidate who is desired.

7 All the representative organs of the Power of the State are chosen and renewable.

8 All the chosen ones must render account of their performance.

9 All the chosen ones can at any time be revoked of their mandate.

10- The deputies and delegates are not professional, therefore they do not receive wage.

11- Participation discharge of the town in the elections. In all the electoral processes that have been celebrated from year 1976, they have participated more in 95% of the voters. In the last elections for Deputies in 1998 they voted a 98.35% of the voters, were valid 94.98% from the emitted votes, were annulled 1.66% of the tickets and deposited in target only 3,36%.

12- The Deputies to the National Assembly (Parliament) choose themselves for a mandate of 5 years.

13- The integration of the Parliament is representative of the most dissimilar sectors of the Cuban society.

14- A deputy by each 20 000 inhabitants, or greater fraction of 10 000 chooses themselves. All the municipal territories are represented in the National Assembly, and the nucleus bases of the system, the electoral circumscription, participates actively in its composition. Each municipality will choose like minimum two deputies, and from that number, so many deputies will choose themselves proportionally as inhabitants exist. 50 % of the deputies must be delegated of the electoral circumscriptions, which must live in the territory on the same one.

15- The National Assembly chooses, of between its Deputies, to the Council of State and the President of the same one. The President of the Council of State is Chief of State and Head of Government. It means that the Head of the Cuban Government must be put under two electoral processes: first it must be elect like Deputy by the population, by the free vote, direct and secret, and later by the Deputies, also by the free, direct and secret vote.

16- To the being the National Assembly the Supreme Organ of the Power of the State and to be subordinated her the legislative, executive and judicial functions to him, the Government and Chief of State cannot dissolve it.

17- The legislative initiative is patrimony of multiple actors of the society, not only of the deputies, the Supreme Court and the Office of the public prosecutor, but also of the union, student organizations, of women, social and of the own citizens, requiring itself in this case who exercise the legislative initiative 10 000 citizens like minimum which they have the condition of voters.

18- The laws are put under the majority vote of the Deputies. The specific thing of the Cuban method is that a law does not take to the discussion of the Plenary one until as much, by means of consultations reiterated to the deputies and considering the proposals that have done, it is demonstrated that clearly the majority consent for its discussion and approval exists. The application of this concept acquires greater relevance when it is the participation of the population, jointly with the deputies, in the analysis and discussion of strategic subjects. In those occasions the Parliament is transferred to the labor, student centers and farmers, becoming reality the direct and participativa democracy.

Lo expresado hasta aquí pone de manifiesto la esencia de la democracia cubana, del sistema que ha instituido, refrendado y apoya la inmensa mayoría de los cubanos.

Sin embargo, no  pretendemos haber alcanzado un nivel de desarrollo democrático perfecto. La principal calidad del sistema político cubano es su capacidad para el constante perfeccionamiento en función de las necesidades planteadas para la realización de una participación plena, verdadera y sistemática del pueblo en la dirección  y el control de la sociedad, esencia de toda democracia.

Fonte: Ministério das Relações Exteriores da República de Cuba