Raul Castro re-elected as first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (L, front) and Cuban President Raul Castro (C, front), take part during the seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), at the Palace of Conventions, in Havana, Cuba, on April 19, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

HAVANA - Cuban leader Raul Castro on Tuesday was re-elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) at the the final plenary session of PCC's seventh Congress, Cuba's official state news agency Prensa Latina reported.

Raul Castro was re-elected by nearly 1,000 delegates at the meeting, including the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, his elder brother, said Prensa Latina.

Raul had served as the first secretary of the PCC since the last Congress held in 2011, when he replaced his elder brother Fidel.

Fidel Castro directed PCC's political organization since its founding in 1965, a severe illness forced him to leave office in 2006.

The PCC Central Committee also ratified Dr. Jose Ramon Machado Ventura in his position as the second secretary of PCC.

In an interview with Granma, the mouth piece of PCC, Susely Morfa González, a young member of the newly elected Committee, said Raul's reelection as first secretary is a clear proof of people's confidence in the leadership.

The new Central Committee has 142 members, with an average age of 54.5 years, younger than the one elected in 2011, according to Raul. He has frequently insisted the need to guarantee the generational replacement of the Party leadership and proposed an age limit of 60 to join to the PCC Central Committee.

The 7th PCC Congress, with 1,000 delegates and 280 guests in attendance, was held from Saturday to Tuesday. During the meeting, the delegates discussed and approved reform guidelines until 2021, which are advocated by Raul Castro and aimed to shape Cuba's economic and social course, as well as the national development plan until 2030.