The Cuban foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, described as “successful” the day of voting on the Family Code which took place this Sunday at diplomatic headquarters and official Cuban missions abroad.
Rodríguez, who himself participated in the vote at the electoral college located at the island’s headquarters before the ONUin the US city of New York, also recognized the “hard work” of the Special Electoral Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) and the electoral constituencies abroad.
In a post on his Twitter profile, the minister recognized these authorities for “guaranteeing organization, transparency and quality of the process.”
The day of voting outside the #CodeOfTheFamilies.
We recognize the hard work of the Special Electoral Commission @CubaMINREX and the electoral constituencies abroad to guarantee organization, transparency and quality of the process.#CodeYes pic.twitter.com/Y8bndNIxTb
– Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) September 19, 2022
The voting day outside of Cuba took place a week earlier than on the island, where the referendum will be held next Sunday, September 25.
According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, quoted by official media, yesterday more than 22,000 Cubans who are abroad for official reasons, including collaborators and diplomats, cast their vote.
For this, 123 special electoral districts and 1,003 polling stations were set up, “in which the conditions required for the best satisfactory development of this process were offered,” as you refer the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
Popular referendum abroad for the new Family Code, for inclusion and rights.
In images ?, electoral college in Colombia ??, Poland ??, Qatar ?? and Finland ??. #CodigoYes ?? pic.twitter.com/UamhZtONDw
— Cuban Foreign Ministry (@CubaMINREX) September 18, 2022
The report ensures that, “in accordance with current legal regulations,” the MINREX Special Electoral Commission transferred the results of the voting process to the Island’s National Electoral Council, which will add them to those obtained next Sunday to give the final result next week.
Also yesterday, a dynamic test was carried out in the country for the voting next Sunday, which, in the opinion of the Cuban electoral authorities, was carried out successfully and “met its objective.”
The referendum, to which some eight million people over the age of 16 are called, will be held in more than 24,000 polling stations in the 168 municipalities of the Island.
Dynamic test prior to the referendum on the Family Code fulfilled its objective
? This was reported this Sunday by Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, president of the National Electoral Council. #YourVoteCounts https://t.co/G0NgUYGj1g
— Elections in Cuba (@Elecciones_Cuba) September 18, 2022
The new Family Code, version 25 of which was approved on July 22 by the National Assembly of People’s Powerpreviously went through a popular consultation process in which 6.4 million people participated, which led to the modification of 49.15% of the articles in relation to the previous proposal, according to official sources.
The regulation will be the only one among the 70 updated after the entry into force in 2019 of the new Constitution that will be submitted to a popular referendum before definitively becoming law.
Among other issues, it regulates interpersonal and family relationships, and contemplates issues that have been the subject of controversy, such as equality marriage, adoption by homosexual couples and solidarity gestation. If approved, the new law would replace the one still in force that dates from 1975.
