Municipal elections, 26 November 2017

In early September 2017, Cuba was hit by hurricane Irma, a category five hurricane that brought strong winds up to 200 km/h, heavy rainfall, and coastal flooding. The storm caused power outages, damaged homes and infrastructure, destroyed crops and contaminated water sources, and forced more than 2 million people to evacuate (Humanitarian Coalition, 2017; OCHA, 2017). There were ten reported deaths, and in the hardest-hit areas, up to 90% of homes were damaged or destroyed. Power lines were brought down, complicating communication with remote areas. Entire municipalities were left with no access to safe water, and coastal and mountain communities were isolated due to flooding of rivers and the destruction of roads (BBC, 2017; Humanitarian Coalition, 2017; OCHA, 2017).  

Impact on the electoral process  

Due to the severe damage caused by the storm, the Council of State - the body that exercises legislative authority when the National Assembly is not in session - made the decision to postpone the scheduled first round of the municipal elections. It was pushed by about one month, from 22 October to 26 November. The motivation behind the rescheduling was to allow state institutions and civilians to focus on recovery efforts, and to ensure “the greatest possible participation of voters and the quality of the electoral process” (Milenio, 2017). On election day, the National Election Commission decided to extend the voting period for one hour due to heavy rain in some areas (Gámez Torres, 2017). The voter turnout was at 85.94%, which is the lowest participation since the 1976 election during Fidel Castro’s regime. The Cuban constitution recognizes the Communist Party as the only legal party, and no opposition candidates or parties were allowed to participate in or contest the electoral process (U.S. Department of State, 2017). 

Author: Siri Björgengen