who have resided for two years on the island. Such citizens must be aged over sixteen years, must not have been found guilty of a criminal offense, and cannot be mentally handicapped. Cubans living abroad are denied the right to vote. The national elections for the 612 members of the National Assembly of People's Power are held according to this system and the precepts of the 1976 Constitution. Under the system, neighbors meet to propose the candidates to the Municipal Assemblies in a public, show of hands vote. The candidates do not present a political platform, but only their resumes. No political party, not even the Communist Party of Cuba, is permitted to nominate or campaign for any candidate. The municipal candidates elected in each neighborhood then elect the Municipal Assembly members. In turn, the Municipal Assembly members elect the Provincial Assembly members, who in turn elect the national Assembly members. A direct vote is then cast to decide whether the decanted members that appear in the final step need to be ratified. |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" width=400|Members !style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Seats |- | style="text-align:left;" |609 candidates (one candidate per seat). Up to 50% of the candidates must be chosen by the Municipal Assemblies. The candidates are otherwise proposed by nominating assemblies, which comprise representatives of workers, youth, women, students and farmers as well as members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, after initial mass meetings soliciting a first list of names. The final list of candidates is drawn up by the National Candidature Commission taking into account criteria such as candidates' merit, patriotism, ethical values and revolutionary history. |609 |- |style="text-align:left;background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total elected |width="30" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9"|609 |} State leaders Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez Second Secretary: Jose Ramon Machado Ventura Members of Politburo: Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, Salvador Valdés Mesa, José Ramón Machado Ventura, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Álvaro López Miera, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Abelardo Álvarez Gil, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, Teresa María Amarelle Bué, Marta Ayala Ávila, Manuel Marrero Cruz, José Amado Ricardo Guerra, Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Gladys Martínez Verdecia. Members of Secretariat: Miguel Díaz-Canel, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, Abelardo Álvarez Gil, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, Joel Queipo Ruiz, José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, Félix Duarte Ortega, Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo. Council of State President: Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández First Vice President: Ana María Mari Machado Vice Presidents: Juan