Cubans did not enjoy genuine democratic freedoms when they voted in yesterday's legislative elections, for which 614 candidates - all members of the ruling Communist party - contested 614 seats.

But the election, which kicks off a process in which new executive authorities will be selected, is further evidence that an increasingly stable Cuba is successfully preparing for life without its charismatic but frail leader, the 81-year old Fidel Castro. And it underlines the need for the world to engage with Cuba, highlighting the ineffectiveness of the longstanding US embargo.