Cuba vote for a new parliament

[mcgillianaire]

Am I missing something? Is it really this RIDICULOUS?

"Cubans have begun voting to elect a new National Assembly. Only one person is standing per seat, including Fidel Castro. His brother, acting leader Raul Castro, said the new chamber would meet on 24 February, when it is expected to decide whether Fidel will remain president. There are 614 candidates contesting 614 seats. Campaigning is not allowed, but a turnout of about 90% is expected. The BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says it is a low-key affair in this one-party state."

I don't know where to begin? What is the whole point of this sham vote? And how is it low-key if they expect a 90% turnout?!

Comments

[pappubahry.livejournal.com]

I think you need a post-it note by your monitor saying, "Put the URL into the HREF".

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Hehehe... I need another one that says: "Attach the file first then type the email"

[pappubahry.livejournal.com]

And on Cuba's voting, this reminded me of what I put into the Table of voting systems by nation at Wikipedia. "Endorsement of selected candidates". I see the Parliament's got slightly bigger since I worked at that table.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Hehe, nice.

[kapitankraut.livejournal.com]

I would've thought that a campaigning-free electon would be a pretty low-key affair. I mean, they are in Central Asia, a region which features the amusing quirk of the opposition candidate frequently voting against himself.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

>campaigning-free electon would be a pretty low-key affair
Good point!

>amusing quirk of the opposition candidate frequently voting against himself
Heh. Got any links to this effect?

[kapitankraut.livejournal.com]

Can't seem to find anything offhand, although it was reported here in Oz as having happened in the 2000 Uzbek presidential election, so according to Wikipedia it must've been Abdulhafiz Jalolov casting the unusual vote.