The referendum for the new Family Code resulted in 66.87% of the ballots in favor and 33% against, an “irreversible trend” for its popular approval according to the preliminary results announced by the National Electoral Council (CEN).
In statements by Alina Balseiro, president of the CEN, to Cuban television this Monday morning, 74.1% of the 8,447,467 registered voters voted, both those who cast their vote both in Cuba as well as in schools located abroad last week.
Regarding the results, 94.25% of the ballots (5,892,705) were valid; of these, 3,936,790 were in favor of “Yes” while 1,950,090 opted for “No,” evidence of how controversial both the law and the context of the people’s consultation have been.
The CEN had postponed one hour ― from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time ― the closing of polling stations in eight of the 15 provinces due to the rains recorded during the referendum and there were still 36 constituencies to count, corresponding to Holguín, Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
This exercise coincided with the intensification of Tropical Storm Ian, which continues its advance through the Caribbean Sea and already became a hurricane at dawn this Monday.
The referendum on the Family Code is the first to be held in Cuba for a law since the triumph of the revolution in 1959, EFE news agency recalled. It started at 7:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
Before being approved in July of this year by the National Assembly, version 25 of the law was consulted with the population between February and April in 79,000 meetings in neighborhoods and municipalities.
This is the only draft law that will go to a referendum among the 70 legal regulations updated as a result of the approval in 2019 of the new Constitution, unlike other laws such as the Penal Code. In addition, it has been published in the Gaceta Oficial since July 22 of this year.
