A longtime deputy of Raul Castro is set to become Cuba's new president Thursday, becoming the country's first president outside the Castro family in nearly 60 years.

First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel was named the only candidate for president on Wednesday as part of a two-day process that finishes Thursday with a vote by members of the National Assembly and the official announcement of the result.

The procedure is a departure from the past, when the legislature has generally chosen the president and made the announcement the same day. The votes are almost always done in secrecy, in keeping with the will of the country's top leadership.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the transition is "of great concern" to the Trump administration because it is not democratic.

"We would like citizens to be able to have a say in their political outcomes, and this certainly does not seem like regular folks will have a say. They basically don't have a real and meaningful choice because it's not a democratic process."

Nauert said the administration would like to see "a more free and democratic Cuba," but is "not overly optimistic."

The new president will succeed 86-year-old Raul Castro, who is resigning after two five-year terms. His late brother Fidel served as prime minister and president after the armed Cuban Revolution in 1959 until he became ill in 2006.

Diaz-Canel appears to be socially liberal and is considered an acceptable successor to the retiring elderly leaders who fought in the revolution.

【古巴近60年来将第一次总统不姓卡斯特罗】相关文章：

★ 重稀土获矿商青睐

★ 台湾女性不惧当“剩女”

★ 山寨也能成大器

★ 巴塞尔新规放宽是进步

★ 领先华尔街

★ 孩子开销大怎么办？

★ 科技资讯阅读：iPad3和iPhone5将面世（中英对照）

★ 伊朗称捕获一架美国无人机

★ 我为何仍然担心欧洲的偿付能力？

★ 中国投资者收购国际米兰部分股权