Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, voted in Cuba's municipal elections
on Sunday, from the clinic where he has been recovering from a 2006
intestinal operation, witnessed by members of the electoral
district where he is registered, state television reported.
Castro appeared on television wearing a lightweight white jacket
and chatting with the electoral officials and with primary school
pupils who look after the ballot boxes.
Castro praised what he described as "the high quality of the two
comrades nominated in his constituency" and said the elections
represent "a resounding response to the threats of (US President)
George Bush."
The US presidency has announced that it will make new statements
on Cuba policy this Wednesday.
Castro's younger brother, Raul Castro, has been running the
country since July 31 last year, when illness obliged Fidel, 81, to
step down.
Raul had voted earlier in the day at a polling station, also in
Havana, where he greeted his Revolution Square neighbors, including
Cuba's central bank president, Francisco Soberon.
Some 8.3 million Cubans are registered to vote on Sunday in the
first municipal elections since Fidel handed power to Raul.
Voters will chose more than 15,000 councilors for the nation's
169 local governments, from a field of nearly 37,750. Balloting
began at 7:00 AM local time and end at 6:00 PM local time.
Cuban television said at noon that nearly 3.9 million Cubans or
around 37 percent of the island's voters had voted in the first two
hours of polling.
(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2007)
