This Saturday, as ordered by the Council of State, in use of the powers conferred upon it, the election of the provincial governor and vice-governor of the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos was held. To fill these vacant positions, the President of the Republic presented the corresponding proposal, and the procedure described in Law No. 127, Electoral Law, was applied for the election. Through questions and answers, J.R. proposes an approach.
What legal bases govern this process?
—In Cuba, the process of electing the provincial governor and vice-governor has its legal bases in the Constitution of the Republic. In its articles 174 and 181, respectively, it provides that the Governor is the highest executive-administrative person in his province and in the case of the Vice Governor it establishes that he fulfills the powers delegated or assigned to him by the Governor. Likewise, he replaces the Governor in case of absence, illness or death, in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Law.
«Law No.127, Electoral Law, from its article 1 and as part of its objectives, describes the procedure for the election of provincial governors and vice-governors. In the same way, it does the same with the procedure in case the positions become vacant, and the details are included in the body of the Law. Within these legal bases, Law No. 138 on the Organization and Functioning of the Provincial Government of Power can also be mentioned. Popular”.
How is the election made?
—Unlike other processes that we have faced before, say the election of delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, or the election of deputies to the National Assembly, in this case it is not carried out en masse by the population. .
Article 240 of the aforementioned Electoral Law and following the provisions of article 175 of the Magna Carta, establishes that the delegates to the municipal assemblies of the Popular Power meet by right, constituted in electoral colleges on the set date, at the premises that it be agreed, to elect, through free, equal, direct and secret vote, the provincial governor and vice-governor.
“For this act to have the necessary validity, the presence of more than half of the delegates that make up each Municipal Assembly of Popular Power is required.”
Could it be the case that this figure is not reached?
—If this occurs, a new date will be set by the Municipal Electoral Council within the following seven days.
Who proposes the candidates for the election of the provincial governor and vice-governor?
—The Constitution and the Electoral Law provide that it is the power of the President of the Republic to propose to the delegates to the municipal assemblies of the Popular Power of each province, the candidates for the election of the provincial governor and vice-governor. These proposals must be sent in advance of the date set for his election, to the president of the National Electoral Council, accompanied by the biographies and photos of the candidates.
«At the same time, it is the National Electoral Council that is responsible for reproducing and delivering to each of the delegates
the corresponding biographies and photos with no less than 72 hours prior to the election date, as well as guiding and organizing the voting events in each municipality and carrying out the counting of the votes in each province, according to the procedure established in this Law, and report its results.
What requirements are required to be candidates?
—For both the governor and the vice-governor, it is required to be a Cuban citizen by birth and not have any other citizenship, to have reached 30 years of age, to reside in the province and to be in full enjoyment of their civil and political rights. It is not a requirement to be a deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power or to be holding or having previously held any political position. Both are elected in the same way and for the same period.
How do the people know the results?
—Once the vote has been carried out, the provincial electoral councils are in charge of carrying out the final calculation of the vote of the delegates of each of their municipalities, of validating and declaring elected or not the provincial governor and vice-governor of those who reach more than the half of the valid votes cast by the delegates to the municipal assemblies of the People’s Power of the province in question. Subsequently, the results are reported to the National Electoral Council and its municipal electoral councils, so that they are known to the delegates and they file the documentation.
«Likewise, the Electoral Law regulates that the president of the National Electoral Council informs the president of the Republic and the president of the National Assembly of People’s Power the results of the election of provincial governors and vice-governors, after which he reports these results. to the population”.
What happens if one or both candidates are not elected?
—It is provided in the legal body itself that if one or both candidates are not elected, the National Electoral Council informs the President of the Republic for the purposes of presenting another proposal. When the new election is carried out, the same procedure is applied, which is carried out within ten days following that in which the previous one was carried out.
Before whom do they take possession?
—The elected provincial governors and vice-governors take office before the representative of the Council of State designated for this purpose, on the date set by the latter, within a period of 21 days following their election. It must be remembered that once the governor and vice-governor have taken office in each province, the Provincial Council of People’s Power is formed, chaired by the Governor and made up of the Vice-Governor, the presidents and vice-presidents of the corresponding local assemblies of People’s Power. and the municipal mayors.
«From the Constitution of the Republic it is established that the Governor is responsible before the National Assembly of People’s Power, the Council of State, the Council of Ministers and the Provincial Council, to whom he is accountable and reports on his management and on the topics that you request. “He also organizes and directs the Provincial Administration.”
What are the functions of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor?
—Among its functions, which are not the only ones, are to comply and enforce, as far as it is concerned, the Constitution and the laws; demand and control compliance with the economy plan and the execution of the province’s budget; inform the Council of Ministers, with the prior agreement of the Provincial Council, of those decisions of the higher-ranking bodies that affect the interests of the community or consider that they exceed the powers of the person who adopted them.
«Also among its functions is to suspend the agreements and provisions of the Municipal Administration councils that do not comply with the Constitution, the laws, decree-laws, presidential decrees, decrees and other provisions of the State bodies, or when they affect the interests of other localities or the generals of the country, and must report to the respective Municipal Assembly of People’s Power in the first session held after said suspension.
“In the case of the Vice Governor, he does not have his own functions, but rather carries out the powers delegated or assigned to him by the Governor.”
*Master in Constitutional and Administrative Law. Dean of the Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences of the Universidad de Artemisa Julio Díaz González.
