{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Cuban municipal elex; govt says belies criticism Cuba isn\u0026#39;\u0026#39;t democratic' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c17ed8eafeecae1529ef' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c17ed8eafeecae1529ef' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nCuban municipal elex; govt says belies criticism Cuba isn\u0026#39;\u0026#39;t democratic\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide exterior of polling station2. Ballot box been prepared for election, zoom in on ballot box3. Candidates'' resume and photograph on window4. Pan from man to election commission registering voter5. Children dressed in their school...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide exterior of polling station\u003cbr/\u003e2. Ballot box been prepared for election, zoom in on ballot box\u003cbr/\u003e3. Candidates'' resume and photograph on window\u003cbr/\u003e4. Pan from man to election commission registering voter\u003cbr/\u003e5. Children dressed in their school uniforms standing next to ballot box as \"guard of honour\" as ballot being cast, man shakes hand with boy guard and kisses girl guard\u003cbr/\u003e6. Pull out of official registering voters\u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Eduardo Canciano Cartaya, Havana resident:\u003cbr/\u003e\"It''s a way to elect people who actually represent us and we know perfectly well that it''s part of our political system. We haven''t been tricked into coming here. We know we are electing to empower the people in order to keep our socialism. We didn''t come here thinking about anything else.\"\u003cbr/\u003e8. Wide of Havana street scene with people, bus and cuban flag\u003cbr/\u003e9. Wide exterior of polling station with sign reading (Spanish): \"Long Live Fidel\"\u003cbr/\u003e10. Mid of polling station\u003cbr/\u003e11. Tilt down of polling station signs\u003cbr/\u003e12. Various interiors of polling station with man registering to vote, zoom in on documents\u003cbr/\u003e13. Man emerging from polling booth, walking to cast his ballot\u003cbr/\u003e14. Wide of Havana street\u003cbr/\u003eCuba held elections to fill municipal assemblies across the island on Sunday in a vote the communist government says belies criticism in Washington and Europe that Fidel Castro''s half-century old revolution is not democratic.\u003cbr/\u003eAlmost all of Cuba''s 8.4 (m) million eligible voters were expected to turn out for the vote, which will choose 15,000 people to fill seats in 169 municipal assemblies.\u003cbr/\u003eThose elected won''t be dealing with big geopolitical issues such as how to thaw frozen relations with the United States, or what measures must be taken to revitalise a near-dormant economy.\u003cbr/\u003eInstead, they will be the first point of contact most Cubans have with their government, the person to see if electricity service is spotty or if the neighbours are making too much noise.\u003cbr/\u003eThe municipal assemblies also have some role in electing those who will fill more important bodies including the regional assemblies and the national parliament, which in turn decides who will serve on the Council of State, Cuba''s supreme governing body.\u003cbr/\u003eAs president, Raul Castro is head of the Council of State. His brother Fidel, who stepped down permanently in 2008 after an undisclosed illness, remains leader of the Communist Party.\u003cbr/\u003eCuba''s leaders have charged that the international news media ignore the local voting as part of a global campaign to discredit the revolution. \u003cbr/\u003eThey say their system is, in fact, the most democratic in the world because it requires participation on a block-by-block level and is not influenced by money.\u003cbr/\u003eCritics say the elections are window-dressing since all real power is concentrated in the hands of the Castros and an aging cadre of revolutionaries who have been with them since they overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.\u003cbr/\u003eRaul Castro cast his ballot in Havana''s Vedado neighbourhood. \u003cbr/\u003eIt was not clear whether Fidel would also venture out to a polling station. \u003cbr/\u003eIn 2007, the last time elections were held, a ballot box was brought to the ailing revolutionary so that he could vote.\u003cbr/\u003eFidel, 83, has looked strong and alert in recent video released by the government, but he has not been seen in public in nearly four years.\u003cbr/\u003eCandidates in Sunday''s vote are nominated by a show of hands at gatherings organised by the local government. \u003cbr/\u003eCommittees for the Defence of the Revolution, or CDRs, neighbourhood watch groups charged with keeping close tabs on their areas and with reporting seditious activity, help get people out to the gatherings.\u003cbr/\u003eWhile candidates do not need to be members of the Communist Party, the vast majority are in good standing with local authorities. \u003cbr/\u003eThe nomination process is done by a show of hands, but a committee must approve each candidate in order for their names to get on the ballot.\u003cbr/\u003eCampaigning is outlawed in Cuba, so voters learn about the candidates based either on word of mouth in the community or through a resume and photograph pasted onto the walls of voting centres.\u003cbr/\u003eAs in other countries, each voter places a check mark by the name of the candidate they want, and the balloting is secret. \u003cbr/\u003eWhile participation is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged. \u003cbr/\u003eCubans 16 years of age or older can vote, and even younger schoolchildren play a role. \u003cbr/\u003eEach ballot box is \"guarded\" by two children dressed in their school uniforms. \u003cbr/\u003eIn 2007, the last time municipal elections were held, turnout topped 95 percent.\u003cbr/\u003eResults were expected on Monday. A run-off to decide elections in which no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote will be held on May 2.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan class=\"star-rating\" aria-label=\"3.5 out of 5 stars\" role=\"img\"\u003e\u003ci 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