Cuba: Minrex Commission Ensures Family Code Referendum Abroad

The president of the Special Electoral Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) of Cuba, Gustavo Machín, said the popular referendum vote on the Family Code would be held on September 18 from 07:00 to 18:00 local time in polling stations abroad, being September 25 in Cuba.

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Once the polling stations are closed, the ballots will be counted, considering the witnesses required for the transparency of the process, said the president of the commission. 

Machín also said the collected data would be computed and reported to the center of the Special Electoral Commission, to be later uploaded to the database of the National Electoral Council. In this sense, the official said, "the enabled computer system is fundamental."

There are 124 electoral districts abroad, divided into around 1 000 polling stations, according to Machín, who said that "the same district can have many polling stations," depending on the affluence of voters and their geographic distribution. 

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, said that the country is in a position to hold the popular referendum on the Family Code on September 25.

Taking into account the circumstances of each diplomatic mission abroad, the vote must be in person, said the commission's president, noting that it is needed to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the electoral exercise.  

The Special Electoral Commission is in charge of guaranteeing the right to vote of Cuban citizens abroad, including diplomats, health and education personnel and others on diplomatic missions and work commitments abroad.