The country’s 168 recently elected Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power were constituted yesterday, May 13, with the investiture of delegates elected by some 7.5 million Cubans, this past April 19 and 26. During the inaugural sessions, the assemblies elected their presidents and vice presidents by secret ballot, to serve a two and a half year term.
Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly attended the investiture in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, and commented that congratulations were in order for all the local electoral commissions which conducted the elections, and for the people who participated in the process “as an expression of their highly developed political culture and their support for the Revolution, Fidel and Raúl, amidst complex, difficult conditions.”
The Arroyo Naranjo Assembly is composed in its majority of production and service workers, while also including scientific researchers; delegates working in the Revolutionary Armed Forces, cultural institutions and the press; members of cooperatives; civil servants; the self-employed and retired; as well as one farmer.
The newly instated body heard a report on a number of problems facing the municipality including street conditions, water supply and garbage collection, while Niurka Guarnalusse Herrera, first secretary of the Party in Arroyo Naranjo, reiterated that the delegates’ responsibility is not only to convey residents’ concerns, but to supervise and give direction to the municipal administration and local economic entities.
(Granma)