|
Will Fidel return to power?
21/10/2007 21:51 - (SA)
Havana - Cubans went to the polls on Sunday in the first round of balloting that ultimately could decide whether Fidel Castro will formally return as the country's leader, or whether his brother Raul will officially succeed him.
Voting got underway mid-morning with more than 8.3 million Cubans over the age of 16 eligible to vote for about 15 000 council seats.
The process is to culminate in the selection of 31 members of the Council of State by early 2008, which has been led by Fidel Castro for more than five decades.
Fidel Castro, 81, continues to be sidelined from power since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006. Raul Castro, 76, is serving as president while his elder brother recovers.
The elections will probably also clarify whether the status quo of an interim government led by Raul Castro will be left in place with Fidel formally at the helm in this island of slightly more than 11 million people.
Although last year Cuban officials insisted that Fidel would return to work as prior to his illness, they long since have stopped making such predictions.
|
News
