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Cubans vote amid uncertainty over Castro's future

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Parliamentary elections have ended in Cuba with the new National Assembly set to elect a council president on February 24 in a vote that could end almost fifty years of rule by Fidel Castro.
BUENOS AIRES, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - Parliamentary elections have ended in Cuba with the new National Assembly set to elect a council president on February 24 in a vote that could end almost fifty years of rule by Fidel Castro.

There was little uncertainty of the outcome of voting on Sunday on the Caribbean island, where each ballot paper offered just one candidate - the man or woman approved by municipal leaders nominated at neighborhood meetings.

Turnout was announced at around 8.4 million voters, or around 95% of the electorate. Over 60% of the candidates were running for the National Assembly for the first time, and the vast majority of them were under fifty.

Fidel Castro announced on state television that he had cast his vote, and there was no doubt that he would be returned to the National Assembly - the only question was whether the new parliament would re-elect the ailing 81-year-old leader of the 1959 Cuban revolution as its president.

"You should have no doubt that he's ready [to continue as president]," National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon told reporters after voting on Sunday.

"He is in a position to continue that job, and the vast majority of Cuba will be more than happy [about that], myself included," he added.

However, Alarcon's diplomacy aside, the reality is that Castro's days as Cuban leader may be numbered.

Castro underwent gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006, subsequently handing over 'temporary' power to his brother, Raul Castro, 76. The leader of the 1959 Cuban Revolution has not been seen in public since, although he has made a number of television appearances.

The National Assembly may very well decide on February 24 to pass permanent power over to the healthier and, albeit only slightly, younger Raul. In December, Castro announced that he would not "cling to power" and would not stand in the way of a new generation of leaders.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited Cuba on January 16, meeting Castro for talks and later telling reporters that, "I think Fidel will soon assume his political role in Cuba, his historic role in Cuba and the globalized world."

As ever with Castro and Cuba, the signs are hard to read.

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