Cuba is preparing for midterm elections scheduled for this coming April 19. Since the Council of State called for the creation of work commissions in September of 2014, work has progressed on the provincial level to assure the organization of the voting process and the availability of all needed materials. In addition to constituting and training electoral commissions at all levels, work is underway on logistic plans to guarantee adequate communication, security and transportation, as well as other resources including forms, writing instruments, ballot boxes, billboards and computers. Alina Balseiro, president of the National Electoral Commission (CEN), meeting with the press, reported that progress is being made and added, “Article 18 of the Election Law establishes that once elections have been called, Central State Administration bodies and organizations at all levels are obligated to support the electoral process to guarantee its quality.”
The implementation of a new digitalized system, designed by the University of Computer Science (UCI) to assure the process from the municipal to the national level provides greater security and confidence in all data gathered, she noted. “It helps us validate the process. For example, if a person is nominated as a delegate in his or her constituency, and that person is an electoral authority, the system reports this, so pertinent changes can be made,” Balseiro explained. Voter registers will be posted March 16-17 and neighborhood Committees in the Defense of the Revolution will play a key role in assuring their accuracy.
