Many Cubans woke up extra early Sunday to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections as lines formed at polling places long before the 7:00 a.m. opening. All seats in the provincial legislatures and the national parliament are up for election.

The 38,357 polling stations distributed throughout the country opened their doors with more than 190,000 citizens working in support of the voting process. The well trained poll workers are considered a guarantee of easy voting, an accurate vote count and a speedy transmission of the results.

A total of 8.4 million people are eligible to elect their representatives on the 614-member national parliament. Overall, 46.3 percent of the candidates were first elected in local elections held last October; 99 percent are high-school or college graduates, 63.22 are nominated by the first time and 56 percent were born after the January 1, 1959 Cuban Revolution.

The members of the country’s 14 provincial assemblies are also up for election. Of the 1,202 candidates nationwide, 834 are running for the first time.