MIAMI — The Cuban government announced Thursday that it will postpone a historic presidential election in 2018.

Cuban leader Raul Castro will remain in power at least until April 19, the new date in which a new legislature and the president of the Councils of State and Ministers will be elected.

Castro had announced that he would retire at the end of his two terms on Feb. 24, the original date of the election of the new National Assembly.

But Cuba watchers had speculated that he would stay in his post longer.

According to the announcement published in the official Communist Party newspaper Granma on Thursday, the decision is due to the impact of Hurricane Irma, which hit the island in September and also caused the postponement of municipal elections.

But analysts and Cuban dissidents recently told the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald that an economy in recession, the hardening of U.S. sanctions and the diplomatic crisis stemming from health attacks on U.S. diplomats in Havana set the stage for Castro’s extended term.

The delay in the transfer of power opens up more questions about who could be Castro’s successor. Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel has been widely viewed as a possible successor to Castro.

There was no mention of Diaz-Canel’s role in the official announcement. While he is the most visible candidate to succeed Raul Castro, he could be seen by some sectors of the Communist Party as someone without the necessary experience to occupy the position.

Some Cuban dissidents have noted what they consider “lack of leadership” by the Cuban vice president, who has issued harsh statements about the United States and the Cuban opposition in a leaked video.

“I do not see a scope in his thought or in his expression,” Antonio Rodiles said in a recent interview. Rodiles and Cuban activist Ailer Gonzalez believe that Castro was preparing a transfer of generational power in which Diaz-Canel, 57, would be the face of a government controlled by the party and by Castro, who will remain at the helm as first secretary with his son, Col. Alejandro Castro Espin.

“Diaz-Canel is perfect for that because he does not have any power, nor anyone who follows him, nor a commanding voice,” Gonzalez said.

Castro had agreed to normalize relations with former President Barack Obama but current President Donald Trump, encouraged by several Cuban-American Congress members, took a turn in politics and increased restrictions on travel of Americans to the island and business with Cuban companies controlled by the military.

This is the first time since the late Fidel Castro reintroduced a limited election in 1976, that the government decided to change the dates of the elections.

First Published: December 21, 2017, 9:16 p.m.