Cuban ruling party mulls tenure limit for top posts

Cuba's ruling Communist Party is considering a maximum of two consecutive office terms, or no more than 10 years for top party and government posts, according to a document released Friday. The proposal was among the 97 proposals listed in the document, which would be circulated among party members and the public for discussion next week, before being presented to the January 2012 party conference for debate and approval. According to the document, the proposed tenure limit was to achieve a "gradual renewal of leadership" depending on features and complexities of every responsibility." The issue was first raised by the Caribbean nation's top leader Raul Castro at the party congress back in April. "We have come to the conclusion that it is advisable to limit the performance of key political positions to a maximum of two periods of five years each," Castro said then.