Cuba goes to the polls

On Sunday morning, Cuba's polling stations opened their doors to over 8.5 million voters registered in the Caribbean island nation.

The 612 members of the National Assembly and over 1200 provincial delegates are to be elected. The winners of Sunday's elections are then scheduled to form a new government before the end of February, during which they will select the State Council.

Although little is expected to change this election year, as the government only allows members from the official communist party to run for office, the National Assembly must select an Assembly president for the first time in twenty years.

The elected unicameral legislature will convene on February 24 and pick a new parliament chief for the first time in twenty years. Long time leader Ricardo Alarcon, is not on the ballot.

The party has not given the reason behind the absence of Alarcon's name from the ballot, but international media has suspected that strained tensions between Raul Castro and Alarcon were behind the departure.

Raul Castro, 81, is expected to be given another five-year term by the National Assembly. In 2008, long-time leader Fidel Castro, 86, handed the country's highest post to his brother due to health issues.

kms/dr (AP, AFP, dpa)