The nationwide municipal voting marked the start of a multitiered process that culminates with parliamentary elections next spring. Lawmakers could then decide to officially replace Castro, 81, with his younger brother Raúl as head of the 31-member Council of State.
The elder Castro has been the island's unchallenged leader since his revolution toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. But he has not been seen in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgeries and ceding power to a provisional government headed by his brother in July 2006.
Fidel Castro has looked lucid in recent state videos, but also frail and in little condition to return to power. Cuban television reported he cast his ballot around midday without leaving the undisclosed location where he has been recovering for nearly 15 months.
In a statement read on official television during a subsequent national newscast, Castro did not mention the elections, but referred to news from Washington that, in coming days, President Bush planned to announce initiatives aimed at fostering democratic transition in Cuba.
''Bush is obsessed with Cuba,'' Castro wrote, accusing the U.S. administration of torturing terror suspects held at the U.S. Navy Base at Guantánamo Bay and prolonging the 45-year-old trade embargo against the island, which he called ``your genocidal blockade.''
The White House said Bush would announce ''new initiatives'' on Cuba at the State Department on Wednesday. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said last week that Bush would ``emphasize the importance of democracy for the Cuban people and the role the international community can play in Cuba's transition.''
The municipal elections are held every two and a half years. Voting is not mandatory, though failing to cast a ballot can draw unwanted attention in neighborhoods, where Revolutionary Defense Committees keep tabs on residents. Anyone over 16 years old can cast a ballot.
Some 37,258 candidates were vying for 15,236 positions on municipal assemblies nationwide and official media has said turnout of over 95 percent of the island's 8.3 million eligible voters is expected.
Organized campaigning is forbidden, but officials posted resumes and photographs of candidates which listed age, marital status, education and experience. The Communist Party is the only one allowed by the constitution, and while candidates do not have to be members, critics claim they are the only ones who ever win.
