Diaz-Canel is Cuba’s new president as Raul Castro steps aside

A poster of Fidel Castro and Cuba’s President Raul Castro stands in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. The Cuban government on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as the sole candidate to succeed Raul Castro in a transition aimed at ensuring that the country’s single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Miguel Diaz-Canel was formally named Cuba’s new president on Thursday, succeeding Raul Castro, a historic handover ending six decades of rule by the Castro brothers, as per AFP.

57-year-old Diaz-Canel, who was the only candidate for the presidency, was elected to a five-year term with 603 out of 604 possible votes in the National Assembly, the official Cubadebate website said.

(With AFP inputs)