Term limits discussed at Party conference
News from Cuba | Thursday, 2 February 2012
Cuba's Communist Party held its first national conference in April.
In his concluding speech, President Raúl Castro indicated that the party would continue to move ahead with the legislative framework for imposing a limit of two five-year terms for top leadership positions. He added that such a policy, once approved by relevant institutions, could begin to be implemented before being brought to a Constitutional referendum. Such a limit would mean that Castro, who came to power in 2006, would have five years left to govern the country. The conference also passed a resolution providing for the replacement of up to 20% of the Party's 115-member Central Committee, addressing concerns over an ageing party leadership. The Committee will have two plenum meetings per year to oversee the economic reform process.
The party conference was scheduled as a follow-up to the 6th Communist Party Congress held in April of 2011. As the meeting closed, President Castro took the opportunity to speak about his anti-corruption campaign, indicating that there are large-scale investigations currently taking place and that "In due time, following the decisions of the corresponding courts, our entire population will, at length, know these findings."
In his speech, Castro also defended Cuba's one-party system, stating that "In Cuba, based on its experience in the long history of the fight for independence and national sovereignty, we defend the one-party system instead of the demagoguery and commercialisation of politics."
