Cuba Rolls Out For Election No Opposition Party On Ballot; Castro Pitches ‘United Vote’

President Fidel Castro stood for election Sunday in parliamentary balloting the Cuban leader has called a referendum on the nation’s socialist system.

“Vote for the future of our country and of humanity!” Castro declared in a Dec. 29 speech promoting Sunday’s election for the 601-seat legislature.

Castro’s name was listed on the ballot in this eastern Cuban town, not far from Santiago de Cuba, the island’s eastern hub. And as he stepped behind a red curtain to fill out his ballot in a scene televised nationwide, thousands chanted and cheered in the streets outside.

Grinning as he spoke outside the polling station, the 71-year-old leader refused to say how he had voted - “The vote is secret.” But, he added, “I voted as a patriot and revolutionary.”

Shortly before polls closed, election officials in many areas reported turnout of about 95 percent. Virtually all candidates were ensured of election, though full results were unlikely before today.

Castro said he would like to see candidates receive more than 80 percent of the vote, although only a bare majority is needed.

The election, Castro had noted before Sunday, was like no other in the world: There were no opposition candidates running for seats in the legislature, known as the National Assembly of People’s Power. The island’s 7.8 million eligible voters could choose some or all of the five candidates listed on the ballots in their districts.

Nor was there any personal campaigning. Brief biographies of the candidates were posted on the walls of polling places along with black-and-white photos.

Instead, pro-government news media bombarded Cubans with calls for a “united vote” in which every candidate would receive every possible vote.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Castro said that would demonstrate the unity of the Cuban people and send “a message to the world and to the illusions of imperialists and reactionaries.”

The assembly usually meets briefly three times a year. It approves laws and is responsible for electing Cuba’s Cabinet, including Castro himself as president. Members serve for four years.

While not all 601 candidates were members of the Communist Party, all support the government’s policies.

Responding to foreign criticism about the lack of opposition parties, officials here repeatedly have criticized U.S.-style elections as demagogic, costly affairs that exclude the poor and divide citizens.