Island Votes; Dissidents Call Election a Farce

President Fidel Castro and millions of other Cubans voted in parliamentary elections in which all 609 candidates ran uncontested. Many Cuban dissidents called the vote a farce and refused to participate.

Voters could check a box for all candidates or vote for one or more of them or none. The father of young shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, was among those on the slate.

Castro, dressed in his typical military uniform, cast his ballot as voters chanted “Fidel! Fidel!” in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where he was running for reelection to the National Assembly.