HAVANA — Cubans were asked Sunday to send an overwhelming message of approval for the country's communist system as its founding generation of geriatric former guerrillas cedes the public spotlight to a new class of middle-aged bureaucrats.

Voters were expected to overwhelmingly approve the draft of a new constitution that preserves the single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while making some updates. The new constitution recognizes private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system.

The only open question was how overwhelming the "yes" vote would be. The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity achieved through a blend of consensus building and coercion.

Forty-three years later, Cuba is one of the world's last communist nations, its economy is faltering, its population shrinking and the percentage of "no" votes is expected to be small but significant when results are released Monday.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state.

"I came to vote for the constitution of my country, for the rights we Cubans have to defend, for continuity and our revolutionary process," said one voter, Januarys Molina, 34.

Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to approve the new constitution for the sake of continuity on the island. In recent days, those messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

"We're living a moment of imperialist menace," Diaz-Canel told reporters after voting Sunday morning. "What they're applying in Venezuela can be applied in any place in the world."

Diaz-Canel's predecessor, 87-year-old Communist Party head Raul Castro, was shown voting in footage on state TV that didn't include comments to state media on the scene.

The largest block of "no" votes could come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalization of gay marriage.

Cuban dissidents reached out to the growing number of people who have internet access on the island, urging them to vote "no" or boycott the vote altogether.

Both Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence attacked the vote as illegitimate in Twitter statements Sunday.</s>Nearly 87 percent of Cuban voters approved a new constitution that preserves the island's single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while updating some financial, electoral and criminal laws, authorities said on Monday.

The margin of victory was relatively low for a country where opposition parties and campaigns are illegal and official proposals routinely receive higher than 90 percent approval.

Cuba's National Electoral Commission said 7,848,343 people voted Sunday on the new charter, which was widely promoted as a vehicle for continuity in one of the world's last communist nations.

The commission said 6,816,169 people voted in favour of the new constitution. Some 300,000 votes were counted as invalid because they were blank or defaced, while 706,400 people voted against the new constitution.

The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity.

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Both President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his predecessor, Raul Castro, received 94 percent approval in their last elections.

In recent weeks, Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state. Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to vote "yes" for the sake of continuity on the island.

'Points us towards the future'

The new constitution recognises private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system. It also sets term limits for the president.

"This constitution establishes the best for the country, for the future of the Cuban people," said Miguel Alvarez, a 57-year-old technician for the Havana water utility. "It eliminates past mistakes and points us towards the future."

But Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman and head of the Cuban Study Group, which advocates engagement with Cuba, said the constitution is "another big missed opportunity".

"The few important economic changes made are not sufficient to create economic growth and attract foreign investment in the needed quantities," he told Reuters news agency.

In recent days, the government's messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

The "no" campaign was amplified by the rapid spread of mobile internet across Cuba in recent months. Some 2 million Cubans on the island have contracted mobile data service since it was offered for the first time in December.

The largest block of "no" votes was expected to come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalisation of gay marriage.</s>Nearly 87 percent of Cuban voters approved a new constitution that preserves the island's single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while updating some financial, electoral and criminal laws, authorities said Monday.

The margin of victory was relatively low for a country where opposition parties and campaigns are illegal and official proposals routinely receive higher than 90 percent approval.

Cuba's National Electoral Commission said 7,848,343 people voted Sunday on the new charter, which was widely promoted as a vehicle for continuity in one of the world's last communist nations.

The commission said 6,816,169 people voted in favour of the new constitution. Some 300,000 votes were counted as invalid because they were blank or defaced, while 706,400 people voted against the new constitution.

The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity.

Both President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his predecessor, Raul Castro, received 94 percent approval in their last elections.

In recent weeks, Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state. Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to vote "yes" for the sake of continuity on the island.

'Points us toward the future'

The new constitution recognises private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system. It also sets term limits for the president.

"This constitution establishes the best for the country, for the future of the Cuban people," said Miguel Alvarez, a 57-year-old technician for the Havana water utility. "It eliminates past mistakes and points us toward the future."

But Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman and head of the Cuban Study Group, which advocates enagement with Cuba, said the consitution is "another big missed opportunity".

"The few important economic changes made are not sufficient to create economic growth and attract foreign investment in the needed quantities," he told Reuters news agency.

In recent days, the government's messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

The "no" campaign was amplified by the rapid spread of mobile internet across Cuba in recent months. Some 2 million Cubans on the island have contracted mobile data service since it was offered for the first time in December.

The largest block of "no" votes was expected to come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalisation of gay marriage.</s>86.85% of voters ratified the document, but in an unprecedented display of ballot-box dissent, more than 700,000 people voted against it

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Cubans have overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution that reaffirms that socialism on the island is “irrevocable” while also legalising modest economic reforms instituted over the last decade.

But in an unprecedented display of ballot-box dissent on the Communist-ruled island, more than 700,000 people voted “no” to the new founding document.

86.85% of those who voted answered “yes” to the question, “Do you ratify the new constitution of the Republic”. 9% of voters opposed ratification and 4.15% spoiled or left ballots blank. Turnout was 84.4%

The state had campaigned hard prior to the vote, casting a “yes” vote as an act of patriotism and a vote for the Revolution. TV, radio, posters, billboards and huge banners unfurled over public buildings urged the population to get out and vote. Even the electric ticker boards on buses chugging along Havana’s main thoroughfares read “I Vote Yes” (“Yo Voto Sí”).

Cuba’s evangelical alliance leads crusade against gay marriage Read more

But the state was met with a surprisingly forceful challenge from an unofficial campaign against the new constitution.

Evangelical churches concerned that the new constitution would create a pathway towards gay marriage hung banners reading “marriage: man + woman” from church walls, while religious activists daubed posters on lamp posts – a direct challenge to the state’s monopoly on public space.

Although pastors did not explicitly call for a “no” vote, analysts say the church campaign mobilised non-religious, socially conservative sectors of the population to vote against the new constitution.

And while state media gave no airtime or column inches to critical voices, #I’mVotingNo (#YoVotoNo) hashtags were trending on Facebook.

While older citizens said they voted to support the government, a younger generation of Cubans, particularly those living in the cities, are more daring.

Cuban journalist Mónica Rivero, 29, said: “I think the new constitution is too conservative. It crystallises the status quo rather than making changes.”

In Cuba’s last referendum on a constitution in 1976, during the Cold War, 98% of ballots voted “yes”.

Voting on the island is optional though strongly encouraged by the state and nosy neighbours. Cuba does not allow international observers to monitor its elections but citizens are allowed to watch the vote count at local polling stations.

The new constitution reaffirms the Communist Party as the only legitimate political party on the island, defines access to health and education as fundamental rights, and claims that humans can only “reach full dignity” through “socialism and communism”.

But there are also big changes. The new constitution introduces presidential term limits and enshrines the right to legal representation upon arrest.

The document also gives constitutional backing to cautious pro-market reforms carried out since 2011. Private property is recognised, the rights of multinationals investing with the state are strengthened, and the market is recognised as a fact of life.

Analysts estimate that one million Cubans now work in the private sector.

Emily Morris, an economist from University College London, said the new constitution might open the path to stronger labour rights for those working in the island’s non-state sector.

“Worker exploitation is already happening in the private sector,” she said. “But recognising private enterprise could be a step forward by facilitating improved regulation of relationships between employers and employees.”</s>Cubans voted in a referendum on a new constitution Sunday with the backdrop of mounting pressure from the United States and continued support for Venezuela's socialist regime.

Results of the vote, which the government turned into a plebiscite on the "irrevocable" role of socialism in the island nation, are expected late Monday.

"We Cubans are voting for our new constitution, we're voting for Latin America and the Caribbean," President Miguel Diaz-Canel said when casting his vote.

"We're also voting for Venezuela, we're defending Venezuela because in Venezuela the continent's dignity is in play."

Diaz-Canel hit out at the presidents of Chile, Colombia and Paraguay for joining Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday in his attempt to force humanitarian aid across the Colombian border into Venezuela.

"A group of presidents on the Colombian border, they look like clowns," said Diaz-Canel.

Diaz-Canel later tweeted: "The hawks of the empire and their lackeys failed, but the empire is not dropping its plans. Let's continue the struggle."

Cuba has been trying to galvanize international support for its ally and against US "military aggression."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claims the humanitarian aid, mostly supplied by Washington, is a smokescreen for a US invasion.

Cuban authorities said that more than 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Former president Raul Castro, 87, who retains the powerful position of first secretary of the ruling Communist Party, cast his ballot in the morning without making a statement, local media reported.

The vote in Cuba comes after the latest attack on socialism by US President Donald Trump, who last week said the leftist ideology is "dying."

But Trump's words served only to boost those voting in favor of the new constitution, which reiterates the central role of socialism and communism in Cuba, analyst Carlos Alzugaray told AFP.

"Many people, seeing his quotes, will vote yes because they want to defend their independence against the US threat," said Alzugaray.

US Senator Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban, hit out at the Havana regime on Twitter.

"The so-called 'referendum' in #Cuba is another maneuver by the Cuban dictatorship to hold its grip on power," he wrote.

"Today's plebiscite is nothing more than a farce and a fraud of the communist party. #IllegalConstitution."

The new constitution, replacing the 1976 version, recognizes a limited role for the free market and private investment, but only under the control of the Communist Party.

It enshrines socialism as the country's only ideology, a move criticized by the Catholic Church.

Cuba's banned opposition, which normally calls for abstention at elections or spoiling ballot sheets, has this time campaigned for a no vote.

"It is obvious that this goes beyond a no to a constitution, it's a no to a regime that aims to perpetuate itself in power," dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer told AFP.

The referendum contains only two options: yes or no to the new constitution.

"Two options, one that favors the regime and the other that represents the only opportunity the people have had in years to say no," added Ferrer.</s>HAVANA, Cuba - After the Cuban government’s vigorous campaign in favor of a new draft of the Cuban Constitution, the country’s electoral commission announced on Monday that voters approved it.

The commission reported 86 percent of Cuban voters approved the constitution that will be replacing the 1976 constitution and 9 percent rejected it. The government also reported about 7.8 million Cubans participated in the referendum.

Cuban officials also say that from August to November the government held more than 130,000 public forums. The government’s propaganda was everywhere, from social media to the government-controlled television programing to buses and buildings.

Activists who want to abolish the single-party system have reported incidents of persecution. The most boisterous opposition is coming from religious conservatives who fear that the new constitution is paving the way for same-sex marriage.

The evangelic community has been following the process since it began in July of last year with the National Assembly’s debate and the release of the first draft of the proposed constitution.

Under the newly approved constitution, the Communist Party remains in control making sure that the judicial and legislative branches support a centrally controlled economic system.

Here is what changes with the new constitution:

- Cuba recognizes the market, private sector and private property. ‘

 - Presidential terms are limited to two five-year terms. 

 - The president has to be age 60 or under to be eligible to serve. 

 - Cuba will have a prime minister. 

 - The judicial system will recognize habeas corpus and the civilian’s right to legal representation.</s>A sham referendum can't hide the fact that the Communist Party retains its monopoly on power and the Cuban people remain in chains.

Maybe you heard: Communist Cuba is on the road to freedom.

That’s what Cuba’s rulers want you to think after the Cuban people overwhelmingly approved a new constitution on Sunday. But the opposite is true. Cuba’s rulers have only cemented their control, and the Cuban people are no closer to freedom today.

Just look at the process that created this new constitution, which was anything but democratic. It began last summer when the National Assembly established a commission to draft the text. The Assembly claims to represent the Cuban people, but its most recent election fielded a party-approved candidate in each of its 612 races. The electorate could only vote yes or no. Every Communist candidate won.

As for the commission, it consisted of 33 hardline Communist loyalists, chaired by none other than First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro. Its only goal was to safeguard the tyrannical one-party state, which it accomplished by drafting a charter that makes socialism in Cuba “irrevocable.”

Ultimately, the new constitution is little more than a public-relations stunt. Like the Soviet constitution of old, it has freedom-friendly language on paper that disappears in reality.

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For example, the document ostensibly recognizes private property for the first time. This is a meaningless clause considering the constitution also reiterates the “irrevocable” role of central planning and state control over production and land use. Nor can there be any meaningful protection of private property in a country that refuses to recognize the concept of individual rights.

Similarly, the text appears to restore the presumption of innocence in Cuban courts and the right to legal representation. This, too, is a dead letter. All lawyers and judges serve at the pleasure of the Communist Party and follow its dictates. The regime also routinely ignores those due process obligations that already exist in Cuban law, including the right to petition the authorities with grievances, and has arrested and imprisoned thousands of political prisoners without formal charges in recent years.

Finally, the constitution seems to place constraints on Cuba’s president, restricting the position to two consecutive terms and creating a new and co-equal office of prime minister. But the true ruler of the country — as in all Marxist systems from China to North Korea — is the party’s first secretary. In Cuba, it’s Raul Castro. There are still no checks and balances on this all-powerful position; the Castro family continues to control every facet of Cuban life.

These and other so-called reforms are little more than a colorful new paint job on the same rusty old Communist architecture. The structure underneath is still a totalitarian state that bans political parties, imprisons and harasses dissenters, and denies the Cuban people’s most basic human rights.

Tellingly, the constitution omitted any reference to the freedom of conscience. The regime actively tried to prevent Christians from speaking out or even participating in the referendum.

Then again, the referendum itself was a ploy by Havana to legitimize its rule and disarm foreign critics. It left pro-freedom Cubans in a lose-lose situation. They could either vote no in an election with a pre-ordained outcome or refuse to participate altogether, giving the regime a lopsided victory either way. The U.S. media is lauding the 9% who voted no — a historic high — but that number is highly suspect for a dictatorship that craved a democratic veneer. Havana could very well have pulled it out of a hat.

Meanwhile, for the Cuban people, nothing will change.

The regime will laud this new step in the revolution’s struggle, even as its subjects struggle to survive in a nation defined by poverty. Last week, I spoke with Rosa María Payá, a Cuban activist whose father Oswaldo Payá founded a movement opposed to the Communist Party. The regime assassinated him in 2012, and now his daughter tells me the new constitution only “guarantees the perpetuation of the dictatorship.”

Rosa María believes the Cuban people deserve a real referendum, which she advocates through an initiative known as Cuba Decide. Tens of thousands of her fellow citizens have joined her to call on Havana to hold a yes-or-no vote — not on a Communist constitution, but on the Communist Party itself.

The regime will never let such a vote happen because it fears nothing more than the Cuban people. Instead, it staged a rigged referendum to fool the world and fortify its rule. The new constitution is a charter of renewed tyranny, not liberty, and so long as the Communist Party reigns in Havana, Cuba will never be free.

Marion Smith is executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.</s>Reuters, Stringer | A woman passes by a sign in Havana on February 5 promoting a "Yes" vote on the new constitution.

Cubans have overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution that enshrines the one-party socialist system as irrevocable while instituting modest economic and social changes, according to the national electoral commission.

Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, president of the commission, said at a Havana press conference on Monday that preliminary results showed 84.4 percent of the 7.8 million potential voters participated in the Sunday referendum.

She said of the potential electorate and not actul votes cast, 73.31 percent ratified the charter, 7.6 percent opposed ratification and 4.5 percent spoiled or left ballots blank.

By comparison, in 1976 when the current constitution was ratified, 99.02 percent of voters in a 98 percent turnout reportedly ratified and just 54,000 were opposed.

There are no independent observers of Cuban elections, however citizens may observe the count at their precincts.

Scattered local reports on social media seemed to somewhat confirm the results.

Cuba’s best-known dissident and pioneer blogger, Yoani Sanchez, who runs an online newspaper from a barrio known for its support of the government, wrote she braved insults and yelling to witness the count in her precinct of 400 yes votes, 25 no votes and 4 blank ballots.

The independent online newspaper El Toque asked readers to send in local tallies, a dozen of which showed overwhelming support for ratification.

A report from a district in central Villa Clara province had the new constitution ratified by 414 votes versus 66 opposed, and another from a district in westernmost Pinar del Rio reported 298 yes votes and 18 no votes.

Debate over the constitution has dominated Cuba’s politics for months, with the government arguing it represents both continuity of former leader Fidel Castro's policies and adaptation to today's demands and opponents insisting it is a

continuation of Communist party rule and oppression.

The government orchestrated a grassroots debate on a draft of the new constitution last year, but after it approved a final version for the referendum in December it used its monopoly of traditional media and public spaces to press for approval.

Nevertheless, dueling campaigns to vote 'yes', 'no' or abstain raged on the internet. The Roman Catholic Church issued a critique read in churches, and many evangelicals said they were opposed.

Dissidents, who were divided between those who advocated a 'no' vote and those who called for abstention so as not to legitimise a process they deemed a fraud, reported a few incidents across the country of members being temporarily

detained or harassed.

"The Cuban government engaged in an unprecedented campaign to assure an overwhelmingly positive vote on the new constitution as a way to legitimize both the market-oriented economic reforms underway and the new leadership of President Miguel Diaz-Canel and the post-revolutionary generation," American University professor of government and Cuba expert William LeoGrande said.

There are important changes in the new constitution that reflect the gradual opening of the Caribbean island nation since the fall of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union.

There are references to markets and recognition of private property, foreign investment, small businesses, gender identity, the internet, the right to legal representation upon arrest and habeas corpus.

The new constitution would also restructure government, adding a prime minister and setting term limits for the president, among other changes.

"It’s another big missed opportunity," said Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman and head of the Cuban Study Group which advocates engagement with Cuba.

"The few important economic changes made are not sufficient to create economic growth and attract foreign investment in the needed quantities," he said.</s>HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans appear to have overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution that enshrines the one-party socialist system as irrevocable while instituting modest economic and social changes.

Results from Sunday’s constitutional referendum, which saw over 80 percent of the 8.7 million electorate cast ballots, were expected Monday afternoon.

There are no exit polls in Cuba, but citizens could observe the count after the polls closed in their neighborhoods.

Cuba’s best-known dissident and pioneer blogger, Yoani Sanchez, who runs an online newspaper from a barrio known for its support of the government, wrote she braved insults and yelling to witness the count in her precinct of 400 yes votes and just 25 no votes.

The independent online newspaper El Toque requested readers send in local tallies, a dozen of which showed overwhelming support for ratification.

@KitKatMelissa reported from another Havana neighborhood that “the constitution was ratified with 487 Yes ... an overwhelming victory against 67 No.”

A report from a district in central Villa Clara province had the new Magna Carta ratified by 414 votes versus 66 opposed, and another from a district in westernmost Pinar del Rio reported 298 yes votes and 18 no votes.

Debate over the constitution has dominated Cuba’s politics for months with the government arguing it represents both continuity of former leader Fidel Castro’s policies and adaptation to today’s demands and opponents say it is a continuation of Communist party rule and oppression.

The government orchestrated a grassroots debate on a draft of the new constitution last year, but after it approved a final version for the referendum in December, it used its monopoly of traditional media and public spaces to press for approval.

Nevertheless, dueling campaigns to vote yes, no or abstain raged on the internet.

Foreign and local observers said they expected between 70 percent and 80 percent of voters to ratify the new constitution, a significant decrease from the 97.8 percent that ratified the current constitution in 1976.

There are important changes in the new constitution that reflect the gradual opening of the Caribbean island nation since the fall of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union.

There are references to markets and recognition of private property, foreign investment, small businesses, gender identity, the internet, the right to legal representation upon arrest and habeas corpus.

The new constitution would also restructure government, adding a prime minister and setting term limits for the president, among other changes.</s>More than 8 million Cubans are registered to vote in a referendum the government has turned into a plebiscite on the 'irrevocable' role of socialism in the island nation

HAVANA, Cuba – Cubans began voting in a referendum on a new constitution Sunday, February 24, with the backdrop of mounting pressure from the United States and continued support for Venezuela's socialist regime.

"We Cubans are voting for our new constitution, we're voting for Latin America and the Caribbean," President Miguel Diaz-Canel said when placing his vote.

"We're also voting for Venezuela, we're defending Venezuela because in Venezuela the continent's dignity is in play."

More than 8 million Cubans are registered to vote in a referendum the government has turned into a plebiscite on the "irrevocable" role of socialism in the island nation.

Some 25,000 electoral colleges opened their doors at 7:00 am (1200 GMT) on a calm day. Results are expected late Monday, February 25.

Diaz-Canel hit out at the presidents of Chile, Colombia and Paraguay for joining Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday in his attempt to force humanitarian aid across the Colombian border into Venezuela.

"A group of presidents on the Colombian border, they look like clowns," said Diaz-Canel.

Cuba has been trying to galvanize international support for its ally and against American "military aggression."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claims the humanitarian aid, mostly supplied by Washington, is a smokescreen for a US invasion.

"Today we're going to have a victory that is ours, that is Latin America's and the Caribbean's and also a victory for Venezuela, an important support for Venezuela," said Diaz-Canel.

Cuba's vote comes after the latest attack on socialism by US President Donald Trump, who last week said socialist ideology is "dying."

But analyst Carlos Alzugaray told AFP that Trump's words served only to boost those voting in favor of the new constitution, which reiterates the central role of socialism and communism in the country.

"Many people, seeing his quotes, will vote yes because they want to defend their independence against the US threat," said Alzugaray.

US Senator Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban, hit out at the Havana regime on Twitter.

"The so-called 'referendum' in #Cuba is another maneuver by the Cuban dictatorship to hold its grip on power," he wrote.

"Today's plebiscite is nothing more than a farce and a fraud of the communist party. #IllegalConstitution."

The new constitution, replacing the 1976 version, recognizes a limited role for the free market and private investment, but only under the control of the Communist Party.

It enshrines socialism as the country's only ideology, a move criticized by the Catholic Church.

Cuba's banned opposition, which normally calls for abstention at elections or spoiling ballot sheets, has this time campaigned for a no vote.

"It is obvious that this goes beyond a no to a constitution, it's a no to a regime that aims to perpetuate itself in power," dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer told AFP.

The referendum contains only two options: yes or no to the new constitution.

"Two options, one that favors the regime and the other that represents the only opportunity the people have had in years to say no," added Ferrer. – Rappler.com
Voters in Cuba approve a new constitution which recognizes private and cooperative businesses, sets term limits for the president, creates the post of prime minister, introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system, and affirms an "irrevocable" socialist government.