2008 Cuban parliamentary election|
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Parliamentary elections were held in Cuba on 20 January 2008 to elect members of the National Assembly of People's Power.[1] According to the Cuban electoral system, one candidate was nominated for each of the 614 seats in the Assembly, and candidates were elected if they received at least 50% of the vote. The candidates are otherwise proposed by nominating assemblies, which comprise representatives of workers, youth, women, students and farmers as well as members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, after initial mass meetings soliciting a first list of names. The final list of candidates is drawn up by the National Candidature Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values and revolutionary history.[2][3]
The date of the election was announced on 20 November 2007.[1] It was considered uncertain whether the ailing Fidel Castro would run for the Assembly, which he had to do in order to continue as President; it emerged in early December that he had been nominated for a seat. Since his illness began in 2006, Raúl Castro had been acting president.[4]
