Cuba reschedules most municipal runoff elections postponed by Sandy for coming Sunday

Cuba reschedules most municipal runoff elections postponed by Sandy for
coming Sunday
By The Associated Press October 31, 2012 9:02 AM

HAVANA - Cuban authorities on Wednesday announced new dates for
municipal runoff elections that were postponed due to Hurricane Sandy,
and added new details about the impact of the storm's deadly landfall.

The balloting will take place Sunday across the country except in
Santiago and Holguin, two eastern provinces that were hardest-hit by
Sandy, according to a notice from the National Electoral Commission
published Wednesday in Communist Party newspaper Granma.

Holguin residents will vote Nov. 11, while Santiago municipalities will
hold their runoff elections on a date yet to be announced.

Sandy smacked into the island as a Category 2 hurricane on Oct. 25,
three days before the vote was originally scheduled.

Cuban officials have reported 11 deaths linked to the storm. State-run
media said Sandy damaged more than 200,000 homes, mostly in Santiago and
Holguin provinces, and caused major losses in agriculture.

State phone company Etecsa reported that some 1,400 telephone poles were
downed, knocking out service to 40,000 customers, according to Cuban
news agency Prensa Latina.

Phones and electricity were gradually being restored with the help of
workers brought in from other regions. In Holguin, 73 per cent of
customers had the lights back on.

Santiago re-established bus service and its international airport
reopened Tuesday. One of the first arrivals was a Venezuelan aid flight
carrying 14 tons of food.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Cuba+reschedules+most+municipal+runoff+elections+postponed+Sandy/7475974/story.html