Over 7 Million Cubans Vote for New National Assembly

The National Electoral Commission (CEN) of Cuba confirmed that turnout in Sunday's general elections reached 82.9 percent.

Alina Balseiro, president of the CEN, held a press conference Monday where she stated that 7,399,891 Cubans participated in the vote for 605 deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power and 1,265 delegates to the 15 Provincial Assemblies.

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Reporting from Havana teleSUR Cuba correspondent, Laura Prada says that the National Election Council of Cuba extended voting hours for approximately an hour to accommodate the island’s eight million voters. They were originally set to close at 5:00 PM local time.

Winners will represent their posts for the next five years.

More than 30,000 newly registered youths are voting for the first time in this election cycle, reports Prada.

The National Parliament will choose the 31-member Council of State on April 19, the head of which will be president.

"This is not an end of the revolution or legacy, it’s a continuation," Prada says that many Cubans are commenting.