Havana, Feb 25 (Prensa Latina) Before 14:00 local time, 74.09 percent of Cubans registered to vote in Sunday''s referendum on the new Constitution had already voted, said the National Electoral Commission (CEN).

The figure represents 6,772, 619 people, when four hours remained for the closing of more than 24,000 polling stations opened in the 15 provinces of the country.

According to the secretary of the CEN, Maria Esther Bacallao, a permanent influx of voters has been maintained at the polling stations.

Regarding the same time of March 11, 2018, when the general elections in Cuba ended, the percentage of participation is higher, she told national TV.

Bacallao commented that the massive presence has been favored by the organization of the referendum and the facilities created, including 198 special polling stations (in hospitals, terminals, student residences and hotels) and the possibility that voters can vote in a different place if they can not reach the one they are registered.

She also acknowledged in particular the response of Cubans to the appointment at the polls, in a day considered in Cuba twice as historic, because it is a national date - which marks the resumption in 1895 of the struggles for independence- and for the opportunity to ratify a Constitution resulting from the collective contribution that meets the aspirations of the majority of people.