Fidel Castro Nominated
as Candidate for
National Assembly
Cuban leader Fidel
Castro was officially
nominated as a candidate
for the next National
Assembly on Sunday, a
move to keep him in
power for another five
years, the country's
national TV said.
Castro, 81, was among
the 23 candidates
nominated from Cuba's
second largest city,
Santiago. Castro's
younger brother Raul
Castro also won a
nomination.
Castro, who temporarily
handed power to Raul a
year ago, will not
necessarily resume
power. But he would have
had to step down if he
had not received the
nomination, since
holding a seat in the
National Assembly is a
prerequisite for the
presidency.
Fidel, who has been
recovering from gastric
surgery, has rarely been
seen in public since
handing over power to
Raul.
The assembly will meet
in March to choose a
31-member Council of
State from its
membership. The council
then chooses a
president, who is leader
of the nation. Fidel has
been Cuba's official
leader since the
nation's 1959
revolution.
Cuba's 169 Municipal
People's Power
Assemblies held sessions
that chose 1,201
candidates in regional
government legislatures
and 614 for the National
Assembly. Cuba will hold
elections for a
five-year-term for both
the regional bodies and
the Assembly on Jan. 20,
2008.
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