• Submitted by: admin
• Society
• Politics and Government
• 03 / 08 / 2019

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Havana, Mar 7 (EFE) .- The new Constitution of Cuba, approved at the end of February in a referendum, will be proclaimed on April 10, official media reported Thursday.

The president of the National Assembly of People's Power (unicameral Parliament) of the island, Esteban Lazo, confirmed the date of the proclamation of the Magna Carta during a meeting with deputies in Havana attended by those from the rest of the country by videoconference, According to the Juventud Rebelde newspaper report.

Notwithstanding, the Constitution that will replace the one in force since 1976 must wait for its entry into force to be published in the Official Gazette of Cuba, the official regulatory publication body.

In the constitutional referendum held on 24 February, 7,848,343 million voters voted, of which 86.85% voted in favor of the new Magna Carta, while 706,400 Cuban voters opted for the "no", according to data from the National Electoral Commission.

Prior to the referendum, a draft of the document was submitted to a popular consultation and approved by Parliament, and finally was composed of 229 articles, 11 titles, two special provisions, 13 transitory and two final, after 760 amendments were incorporated, which meant that 60 percent of the first project was modified.

The new Constitution does not modify the political system of the island, subordinated to the Communist Party, nor renounce communism, but it does reflect the economic and social changes produced in the last decade after the reforms introduced during the two terms of the current president Raúl Castro (2008 -2018).

As news recognizes private property, considers the necessary foreign investment, institutes the figures of the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and establishes a limit of two consecutive presidential terms.

Around 50 laws should complement the new Cuban Constitution, which will entail "intense legislative work" for the coming years, predicted the head of the Parliament, Esteban Lazo, in the meeting with the deputies.

In that parliamentary meeting the bills of national symbols and of fishing were presented, although those two legal bodies are not directly linked to the changes in the Magna Carta because their preliminary projects were already ready.

It was also reported that the process of consulting these bills with parliamentarians, specialists and the general public will take place between March 27 and April 3.