A sham referendum can't hide the fact that the Communist Party retains its monopoly on power and the Cuban people remain in chains.

Maybe you heard: Communist Cuba is on the road to freedom.

That’s what Cuba’s rulers want you to think after the Cuban people overwhelmingly approved a new constitution on Sunday. But the opposite is true. Cuba’s rulers have only cemented their control, and the Cuban people are no closer to freedom today.

Just look at the process that created this new constitution, which was anything but democratic. It began last summer when the National Assembly established a commission to draft the text. The Assembly claims to represent the Cuban people, but its most recent election fielded a party-approved candidate in each of its 612 races. The electorate could only vote yes or no. Every Communist candidate won.

As for the commission, it consisted of 33 hardline Communist loyalists, chaired by none other than First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro. Its only goal was to safeguard the tyrannical one-party state, which it accomplished by drafting a charter that makes socialism in Cuba “irrevocable.”

Ultimately, the new constitution is little more than a public-relations stunt. Like the Soviet constitution of old, it has freedom-friendly language on paper that disappears in reality.

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For example, the document ostensibly recognizes private property for the first time. This is a meaningless clause considering the constitution also reiterates the “irrevocable” role of central planning and state control over production and land use. Nor can there be any meaningful protection of private property in a country that refuses to recognize the concept of individual rights.

Similarly, the text appears to restore the presumption of innocence in Cuban courts and the right to legal representation. This, too, is a dead letter. All lawyers and judges serve at the pleasure of the Communist Party and follow its dictates. The regime also routinely ignores those due process obligations that already exist in Cuban law, including the right to petition the authorities with grievances, and has arrested and imprisoned thousands of political prisoners without formal charges in recent years.

Finally, the constitution seems to place constraints on Cuba’s president, restricting the position to two consecutive terms and creating a new and co-equal office of prime minister. But the true ruler of the country — as in all Marxist systems from China to North Korea — is the party’s first secretary. In Cuba, it’s Raul Castro. There are still no checks and balances on this all-powerful position; the Castro family continues to control every facet of Cuban life.

These and other so-called reforms are little more than a colorful new paint job on the same rusty old Communist architecture. The structure underneath is still a totalitarian state that bans political parties, imprisons and harasses dissenters, and denies the Cuban people’s most basic human rights.

Tellingly, the constitution omitted any reference to the freedom of conscience. The regime actively tried to prevent Christians from speaking out or even participating in the referendum.

Then again, the referendum itself was a ploy by Havana to legitimize its rule and disarm foreign critics. It left pro-freedom Cubans in a lose-lose situation. They could either vote no in an election with a pre-ordained outcome or refuse to participate altogether, giving the regime a lopsided victory either way. The U.S. media is lauding the 9% who voted no — a historic high — but that number is highly suspect for a dictatorship that craved a democratic veneer. Havana could very well have pulled it out of a hat.

Meanwhile, for the Cuban people, nothing will change.

The regime will laud this new step in the revolution’s struggle, even as its subjects struggle to survive in a nation defined by poverty. Last week, I spoke with Rosa María Payá, a Cuban activist whose father Oswaldo Payá founded a movement opposed to the Communist Party. The regime assassinated him in 2012, and now his daughter tells me the new constitution only “guarantees the perpetuation of the dictatorship.”

Rosa María believes the Cuban people deserve a real referendum, which she advocates through an initiative known as Cuba Decide. Tens of thousands of her fellow citizens have joined her to call on Havana to hold a yes-or-no vote — not on a Communist constitution, but on the Communist Party itself.

The regime will never let such a vote happen because it fears nothing more than the Cuban people. Instead, it staged a rigged referendum to fool the world and fortify its rule. The new constitution is a charter of renewed tyranny, not liberty, and so long as the Communist Party reigns in Havana, Cuba will never be free.

Marion Smith is executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. </s> Nearly 87 percent of Cuban voters approved a new constitution that preserves the island's single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while updating some financial, electoral and criminal laws, authorities said Monday.

The margin of victory was relatively low for a country where opposition parties and campaigns are illegal and official proposals routinely receive higher than 90 percent approval.

Cuba's National Electoral Commission said 7,848,343 people voted Sunday on the new charter, which was widely promoted as a vehicle for continuity in one of the world's last communist nations.

The commission said 6,816,169 people voted in favour of the new constitution. Some 300,000 votes were counted as invalid because they were blank or defaced, while 706,400 people voted against the new constitution.

The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity.

Both President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his predecessor, Raul Castro, received 94 percent approval in their last elections.

In recent weeks, Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state. Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to vote "yes" for the sake of continuity on the island.

'Points us toward the future'

The new constitution recognises private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system. It also sets term limits for the president.

"This constitution establishes the best for the country, for the future of the Cuban people," said Miguel Alvarez, a 57-year-old technician for the Havana water utility. "It eliminates past mistakes and points us toward the future."

But Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman and head of the Cuban Study Group, which advocates enagement with Cuba, said the consitution is "another big missed opportunity".

"The few important economic changes made are not sufficient to create economic growth and attract foreign investment in the needed quantities," he told Reuters news agency.

In recent days, the government's messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

The "no" campaign was amplified by the rapid spread of mobile internet across Cuba in recent months. Some 2 million Cubans on the island have contracted mobile data service since it was offered for the first time in December.

The largest block of "no" votes was expected to come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalisation of gay marriage. </s> Nearly 87 percent of Cuban voters approved a new constitution that preserves the island's single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while updating some financial, electoral and criminal laws, authorities said on Monday.

The margin of victory was relatively low for a country where opposition parties and campaigns are illegal and official proposals routinely receive higher than 90 percent approval.

Cuba's National Electoral Commission said 7,848,343 people voted Sunday on the new charter, which was widely promoted as a vehicle for continuity in one of the world's last communist nations.

The commission said 6,816,169 people voted in favour of the new constitution. Some 300,000 votes were counted as invalid because they were blank or defaced, while 706,400 people voted against the new constitution.

The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity.

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Both President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his predecessor, Raul Castro, received 94 percent approval in their last elections.

In recent weeks, Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state. Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to vote "yes" for the sake of continuity on the island.

'Points us towards the future'

The new constitution recognises private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system. It also sets term limits for the president.

"This constitution establishes the best for the country, for the future of the Cuban people," said Miguel Alvarez, a 57-year-old technician for the Havana water utility. "It eliminates past mistakes and points us towards the future."

But Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban-American businessman and head of the Cuban Study Group, which advocates engagement with Cuba, said the constitution is "another big missed opportunity".

"The few important economic changes made are not sufficient to create economic growth and attract foreign investment in the needed quantities," he told Reuters news agency.

In recent days, the government's messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

The "no" campaign was amplified by the rapid spread of mobile internet across Cuba in recent months. Some 2 million Cubans on the island have contracted mobile data service since it was offered for the first time in December.

The largest block of "no" votes was expected to come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalisation of gay marriage. </s> HAVANA, Cuba - After the Cuban government’s vigorous campaign in favor of a new draft of the Cuban Constitution, the country’s electoral commission announced on Monday that voters approved it.

The commission reported 86 percent of Cuban voters approved the constitution that will be replacing the 1976 constitution and 9 percent rejected it. The government also reported about 7.8 million Cubans participated in the referendum.

Cuban officials also say that from August to November the government held more than 130,000 public forums. The government’s propaganda was everywhere, from social media to the government-controlled television programing to buses and buildings.

Activists who want to abolish the single-party system have reported incidents of persecution. The most boisterous opposition is coming from religious conservatives who fear that the new constitution is paving the way for same-sex marriage.

The evangelic community has been following the process since it began in July of last year with the National Assembly’s debate and the release of the first draft of the proposed constitution.

Under the newly approved constitution, the Communist Party remains in control making sure that the judicial and legislative branches support a centrally controlled economic system.

Here is what changes with the new constitution:

- Cuba recognizes the market, private sector and private property. ‘

 - Presidential terms are limited to two five-year terms. 

 - The president has to be age 60 or under to be eligible to serve. 

 - Cuba will have a prime minister. 

 - The judicial system will recognize habeas corpus and the civilian’s right to legal representation. </s> Cuba's National Assembly on Saturday approved an update of the country's constitution, the final step before a national referendum expected to approve the new charter in February.

The new constitution contains more continuity than change, although it recognizes the de-facto modernization of Cuban society over the last decade. The constitution maintains Cuba as a centrally planned economy ruled by a single Communist Party, but recognizes private property for the first time and paves the way for a separate referendum on legalizing gay marriage.

It also creates the role of prime minister alongside the current president, as well as provincial governors.

Legalizing private property is a formal recognition of significant change in Cuban society since former President Raul Castro permitted home and auto sales, creating a booming real-estate market, and allowed more than half a million Cubans have permits to work as entrepreneurs. Hundreds of thousands more work full or part-time in the private sector without licenses.

The new constitution also recognizes worker-owned cooperatives for the first time as a legal form of production in every sector of the economy, while maintaining Cuba's largely inefficient and stagnant state-run industries as the central means of production.

Closing the National Assembly, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island's economic challenges — including a weak 1.2 percent 2018 growth rate, and similar growth expected next year — required the acceptance of private business, joint public-private ventures and coops working together. He promised to fight widespread public-sector embezzlement and corruption that makes it virtually impossible to get anything done in Cuba without a series of small bribes.

"We've called a battle, and we'll wage it, an ethical battle against corruption, illegality ... and social indiscipline," he said.

The president also promised a more responsive government, part of an initiative that has seen almost all Cuba's head of ministries start social-media accounts for the first time, some of which take questions from citizens.

"There are a lot of questions to pay attention and respond to," Diaz-Canel said. "We'll give responses to all of them as soon as it's possible, and those that we don't' have an answer to for the moment, we'll never stop searching."

He did not mention Cuba's unique two-currency system, which creates inefficiencies and distortions that are seen as one of the island's most serious economic problems. Castro called monetary unification an urgent priority before stepping down in April, but the issue has barely been mentioned since Diaz-Canel took over.

The degree to which the new constitution will actually spur change is expected to be seen only after the National Assembly approves a raft of changes to the civil and penal codes and electoral laws next year.

Language seen as the immediate precursor to the legalization of gay marriage was eliminated after widespread public objection and protests by evangelical churches. Cuban officials say the question of gay marriage will be put to a nationwide referendum, something most gay activists oppose.

The constitution was drafted by a committee led by Castro, who is still Communist Party head. It was then subjected to months of public comment in workplaces and neighborhoods across the island. Some suggested changes were approved, others rejected.

As in virtually every vote in recent memory, the National Assembly unanimously approved the draft constitution. </s> HAVANA — Cuba’s National Assembly on Saturday approved an update of the country’s constitution, the final step before a national referendum expected to approve the new charter in February.

The new constitution contains more continuity than change, although it recognizes the de-facto modernization of Cuban society over the last decade. The constitution maintains Cuba as a centrally planned economy ruled by a single Communist Party, but recognizes private property for the first time and paves the way for a separate referendum on legalizing gay marriage.

It also creates the role of prime minister alongside the current president, as well as provincial governors.

Legalizing private property is a formal recognition of significant change in Cuban society over the past decade. Former President Raul Castro permitted home and auto sales, creating a booming real-estate market, and more than half a million Cubans have permits to work as entrepreneurs. Hundreds of thousands more work full or part-time in the private sector without licenses.

The new constitution also recognizes worker-owned co-operatives for the first time as a legal form of production in every sector of the economy, while maintaining Cuba’s largely inefficient and stagnant state-run industries as the central means of production.

The degree to which the new constitution will actually spur change is expected to be seen only after the National Assembly approves a raft of changes to the civil and penal codes and electoral laws next year.

Language seen as the immediate precursor to the legalization of gay marriage was eliminated after widespread public objection and protests by evangelical churches. Cuban officials say the question of gay marriage will be put to a nationwide referendum, something most gay activists oppose.

The constitution was drafted by a committee led by Communist Party head Raul Castro, then subjected to months of public comment in workplaces and neighbourhoods across the island. Some suggested changes were approved, others rejected.

As in virtually every vote in recent memory, the National Assembly unanimously approved the draft constitution. </s> HAVANA — Cubans were asked Sunday to send an overwhelming message of approval for the country's communist system as its founding generation of geriatric former guerrillas cedes the public spotlight to a new class of middle-aged bureaucrats.

Voters were expected to overwhelmingly approve the draft of a new constitution that preserves the single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while making some updates. The new constitution recognizes private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system.

The only open question was how overwhelming the "yes" vote would be. The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity achieved through a blend of consensus building and coercion.

Forty-three years later, Cuba is one of the world's last communist nations, its economy is faltering, its population shrinking and the percentage of "no" votes is expected to be small but significant when results are released Monday.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state.

"I came to vote for the constitution of my country, for the rights we Cubans have to defend, for continuity and our revolutionary process," said one voter, Januarys Molina, 34.

Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to approve the new constitution for the sake of continuity on the island. In recent days, those messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

"We're living a moment of imperialist menace," Diaz-Canel told reporters after voting Sunday morning. "What they're applying in Venezuela can be applied in any place in the world."

Diaz-Canel's predecessor, 87-year-old Communist Party head Raul Castro, was shown voting in footage on state TV that didn't include comments to state media on the scene.

The largest block of "no" votes could come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalization of gay marriage.

Cuban dissidents reached out to the growing number of people who have internet access on the island, urging them to vote "no" or boycott the vote altogether.

Both Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence attacked the vote as illegitimate in Twitter statements Sunday. </s> HAVANA (AP) — Cubans were asked Sunday to send an overwhelming message of approval for the country's communist system as its founding generation of geriatric former guerrillas cedes the public spotlight to a new class of middle-aged bureaucrats.

Voters were expected to overwhelmingly approve the draft of a new constitution that preserves the single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while making some updates. The new constitution recognizes private and cooperative businesses alongside state ones, creates the posts of prime minister and provincial governor, and introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system.

The only open question was how overwhelming the "yes" vote would be. The current constitution was approved by 97.7 percent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity achieved through a blend of consensus-building and coercion.

Forty-three years later, Cuba is one of the world's last communist nations, its economy is faltering, its population shrinking and the percentage of "no" votes is expected to be small but significant when results are released Monday.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel's government waged a non-stop campaign promoting a "yes" vote and tarring those voting "no" as counterrevolutionaries and enemies of the state.

"I came to vote for the constitution of my country, for the rights we Cubans have to defend, for continuity and our revolutionary process," said one voter, Januarys Molina, 34.

Aside from a few independent websites, all Cuban media is state-run and the airwaves were filled with messages urging people to approve the new constitution for the sake of continuity on the island. In recent days, those messages were mixed with words of support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as tensions rise between Cuba's main ally and the Trump administration, along with Latin American allies who support the Venezuelan opposition and its attempt to force aid into the country.

"We're living a moment of imperialist menace," Diaz-Canel told reporters after voting Sunday morning. "What they're applying in Venezuela can be applied in any place in the world."

Diaz-Canel's predecessor, 87-year-old Communist Party head Raul Castro, was shown voting in footage on state TV that didn't include comments to state media on the scene.

The largest block of "no" votes could come from the growing ranks of evangelical Christians in Cuba, who object to language that eliminates a requirement for marriage to be only between a man and woman, paving the way for a future legalization of gay marriage.

Cuban dissidents reached out to the growing number of people who have internet access on the island, urging them to vote "no" or boycott the vote altogether.

Both Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence attacked the vote as illegitimate in Twitter statements Sunday. </s> HAVANA (AP) - Cuban leaders are rallying citizens to the polls for a referendum on a new constitution meant to update a charter adopted decades ago when the country was a close ally of the Soviet Union.

The new document maintains control by the Communist Party, but recognizes private property for the first time after years of greater opening to small-scale private enterprise.

Passage of the measure is assured, despite opposition by some evangelical Christian leaders upset that the document opens the possibility for eventual legalization of gay marriage.

Lines stretched out from schools used as polling places on Sunday.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel took to Twitter to encourage support, writing "CubaVotesYes" and saying the document "guatantees the rights of each and every citizen of the nation."

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel talks to the press after voting in a referendum to approve or reject the new constitution in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The constitutional reforms maintain Cuba's single-party political system and centrally planned economy while recognizing private property and small businesses, which have been part of the island's economy without formal legal status for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel greets a student after voting in a referendum to approve or reject the new constitution in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The constitutional reforms maintain Cuba's single-party political system and centrally planned economy while recognizing private property and small businesses, which have been part of the island's economy without formal legal status for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, Pool)

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel poses for photos with residents after voting in a referendum to approve or reject the new constitution in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The constitutional reforms maintain Cuba's single-party political system and centrally planned economy while recognizing private property and small businesses, which have been part of the island's economy without formal legal status for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Voters in Cuba approve a new constitution which recognizes private and cooperative businesses, sets term limits for the president, creates the post of prime minister, introduces the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus to the justice system, and affirms an "irrevocable" socialist government.