The island is free

Fidel Castro said he would no longer return to the duties of the country's president. According to the Air Force, the appeal of the 81-year-old Castro to the people published on Tuesday the Granma newspaper.

Since 1959, the permanent leader of the state stated that he did not intend to recover the post of chairman of the State Council.

In 2006, Castro, after a heavy operation on the intestine, transferred power to the younger brother Raul. Since then, he has not appeared in public. He is periodically shown on TV, in addition, he turned to citizens through the press.

Despite a long illness, Castro was nominated by a candidate for deputies of the Cuba Parliament by voters of one of the municipalities of the city of Santiago de Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution, the election to the parliament is an indispensable condition to claim the highest position in the country - the post of chairman of the State Council.

In the elections of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba, Fidel Castro scored 1 percent of the vote than his brother Raul. According to the official figures of the Cuban National Election Commission, Raul Castro gained 99.3 percent of the vote, and 98.2 percent of voters cast votes for Fidel.

Earlier it was reported that Castro will become known on February 24, when the first meeting of the parliament in a new composition will be held, which will announce the names of members of the highest executive body.