April 20,2023:Cuba’s National Assembly has ratified another five-year term for incumbent President Miguel Diaz-Canel, in a move expected to result in few changes as the country struggles with an economic crisis and an exodus of citizens.
“We must assume this gigantic challenge without slowing down,” Diaz-Canel, 62, said in a speech following his victory on Wednesday. He called upon his cabinet to “face up to obstacles and resolve inefficiencies” over the next five years.
Diaz-Canal won reelection with votes from 459 of the 462 legislators present. He first assumed the presidency in 2018 and has largely rejected proposed structural changes to Cuba’s political and economic system.
“He has proclaimed himself a president of continuity when what the country is asking for, and even the agenda of the Communist Party itself, is an agenda of continuous change,” Arturo Lopez-Levy, an analyst at the Autonomous University of Madrid, told the AFP news agency.
The legislators who voted to extend Diaz-Canal’s mandate only recently faced elections themselves last month for Cuba’s 470-member National Assembly.
Critics point out that Cuba’s government does not allow opposition challengers. Half of the candidates in March’s legislative election came from locally elected municipal assemblies, with the other half nominated by groups representing other segments of society such as labour unions.
However, all candidates are analysed by election committees with ties to the Communist Party, which critics allege does not allow true opposition.
