IF CUBA were a democracy, the municipal elections that start on November 26th would open a season of participatory politics, culminating in the choosing of a new president next February. This year more than 200 people, a record number, put themselves forward as "alternative" candidates for local office, contesting the hegemony of the Communist Party. The government put a quick stop to that. Local elections, held every two years, are Cuba's most democratic. All Cubans older than 16, except felons and the mentally ill, can run for 12,515 council seats. The job of those who are elected is to coax local governments to fix potholes, supply water and the like. Nominees, chosen in meetings of their neighbours, appear on paper ballots; citizens decide among them in secret voting. Membership of the Communist Party is not a requirement.
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