Two senior officials of the Electoral Council of Cuba have resigned

Two high-ranking officials of the Cuban Electoral Council have been relieved of their duties after submitting their release and resignation, respectively, according to decrees published this Tuesday in the Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 41. This appears to be a new phase of the internal reorganization shaking several institutions in the country amid the most severe crisis in decades.

Eulieser Naranjo Carrillo, president of the Provincial Electoral Council of Holguín, and Amada Zequeira Angarica, president of the Provincial Electoral Council of Cienfuegos, requested to be relieved from their respective positions, a request that was accepted by the Council of State of the Republic and signed by the president of the National Assembly, Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández.

In both statements, no additional explanations were provided regarding the personal or institutional reasons behind the resignations.

In place of Zequeira, Mirna Viñales Viñales has been appointed, while it has not yet been publicly announced who will take over the position left by Naranjo in Holguín.

However, it seems that Naranjo Carrillo may still be involved with the electoral apparatus. A recent social media post from the CEN congratulates him on his birthday, identifying him as the Director of the Assurance and Support Unit of the National Electoral Council, which suggests that he holds an active position within the organization.

This type of movement reinforces the impression that many of these "resignations" may be related to internal adjustments or strategic relocations, rather than permanent departures, in line with the logic of discretion and loyalty that characterizes power management in Cuba.

These moves occur just two months after the Official Gazette also formalized the removal of Rubén Ramos Rojas as president of the Provincial Electoral Council of Villa Clara due to “loss of the requirements to hold the position,” as well as the departure of María Luisa Zamora Rodríguez from the National Electoral Council due to “instability in the performance of her duties” and a transfer to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

The accumulation of dismissals, resignations, and reconfigurations within the state apparatus, many of them without public explanations, has generated increasing speculation about internal struggles and a strategy of political control by the regime in response to the social discontent that is palpable both in the streets and on social media.

The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz himself has recently emphasized the need to strengthen political-ideological work in response to the economic decline and the increasing citizen questioning.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Resignation of Officials from the Electoral Council of Cuba