The elections on Sunday for delegates (councillors) of the municipal assemblies in Cuba broke a historical record of abstentions since the triumph of the revolution in 1959, according to preliminary data released this Monday by the National Electoral Council (CEN). One day after the day, the president of the organization, Alina Balseiro, confirmed at a press conference that of the 8.3 million Cubans called to the polls, only 68.58% participated, which represents an abstention of 31.42 %.
In this way, Cubans were reluctant to participate despite the fact that the closing time of the schools was delayed from 6:00 p.m. local time (23:00 GMT) to 7:00 p.m. “at the request of the electoral councils in several territories and of the voters”, as explained by the CEN without providing further details.
“in tranquility”
“(The elections) took place as planned, calmly and (with) adherence to the law,” said Balseiro. No major incidents were disclosed, despite the fact that opponents and activists denounced that some of them were prevented from acting as observers.