Havana, Cuba.- The Cuban Parliament is electing Wednesday following the inauguration of the 9th Legislature the nation”s President and the other members of the Council of State.
The 605 lawmakers elected last March 11 by over 7,400,000 voters through secret and direct vote will choose among them the members of the Council of State.
From this vote, which will also be secret, the President -who is Head of State and Government-, the First Vice President, five Vice Presidents, the Council’s Secretary and the remaining 23 members of this body will come out.
The result of this vote will be made public on Thursday on the second and final day of the National Assembly’s inaugural session.
After the oath ceremony on Wednesday, the MPs will first elect the Speaker of the one-chamber house, according to the 1976 Constitution still valid.
The inauguration of the 9th Legislature coincides with the 57th anniversary of the US-backed and led Bay of Pig invasion that ended up in a crushing defeat in just 72 hours.
A well armed brigade of mercenaries landed on the Zapata Swamp, south of the western province of Matanzas, in the early hours of April 17, 1961.
Guided by the historical leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, the newly created people’s militia and troops from the fledging Revolutionary Armed Forces defeated the invaders in Giron Beach in the afternoon of April 19, in less than 72 hours from the initial assault.