Fidel Castro nominated for Cuban assembly

HAVANA, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Cuban leader Fidel Castro was nominated as a candidate for the National Assembly elections in January, Granma reported Monday.

The ailing Castro needed the nomination to retain his role as the leader of the communist Caribbean nation.

Cuban electoral law dictates the country´s leader must come from the ranks of the National Assembly.

Castro, however, has not been in charge of the country´s date-to-day operations since July 2006, when he announced he was suffering from an undisclosed gastrointestinal illness and turned over authority to his brother, Raul.