Cuba's Diaz-Canel wins second term
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The Cuban president was re-elected amid the island's acute economic crisis caused by US sanctions and the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic.
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Cuba's President and newly-elected First Secretary of the Communist Party Miguel Diaz-Canel speaks during the closing session of the VIII Congress of the Communist Party in Havana, Cuba, April 19, 2021. (Reuters)
Cuban legislators chose Miguel Diaz-Canel as Cuba's president for another five years on Wednesday.
Raul Castro, former president and revolutionary leader, addressed newly elected parliamentarians during the morning session, and the conference concluded with the choice of Diaz-Canel as president.
Diaz-Canel secured 459 of 460 votes, while Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa received 439.
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Cuba's presidential elections are not held immediately, as the National Assembly selects the country's leader from among its members, a system that dates back to 1976 that began under the late legendary leader Fidel Castro.
Diaz-Canel, a 62-year-old electrical engineer, took over as president from Raul Castro in 2013 and as leader of the Cuban Communist Party in 2018.
He has guided the country through its greatest economic crisis in decades, with food, medication, and fuel shortages caused by decades-long US sanctions and the coronavirus outbreak.
