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Politics

Cuba Holds a Stacked Election Amid the Biggest Population Exodus Since the Revolution

  • About 2% of the population tried to reach the US in one year
  • Cuba-watchers say absenteeism to give clues of national mood
A poster asking Cubans to vote in the legislative elections, in Havana, on March 23. 

A poster asking Cubans to vote in the legislative elections, in Havana, on March 23. 

Photographer: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

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Cuba is holding elections Sunday to pick lawmakers at a time when the ruling communist party is struggling to keep a lid on public anger caused by rampant inflation, hunger and blackouts.

The vote, decried as a sham by human rights groups, will pick 470 candidates who were pre-selected by the government to the powerful National Parliament for a five-year term. The system has allowed the Communist Party to control the parliament since its inception in 1976.