HAVANA (AP) -- Fidel Castro was nominated for a seat in Cuba's parliament Sunday.

The Cuban leader was nominated Sunday by city council officials in his eastern home province of Santiago.
If Castro wins a parliament seat during national elections Jan. 20, he would remain in the running to retain the presidency of Cuba's supreme governing body, the Council of State.
Castro has not been seen in public since emergency intestinal surgery forced him to cede power to a provisional government run by his younger brother Raul in July 2006.
Cuban officials say he is recovering and on top of political events.
Members of municipal assemblies across the island gathered to nominate candidates for the 614-member parliament, which is known here as the National Assembly and is chosen every five years.
Several weeks after a new assembly is chosen, its members convene to select the Council of State. Castro has held the council's presidency since it was created in 1976.
""I would vote with both hands for him to continue as president of the Council of State,"" National Assembly speaker Ricardo Alarcon told reporters in Havana.
Vice President Carlos Lage said if Castro is a candidate for deputy, ""I am sure he will be elected.""
""During his convalescence he has continued to be actively involved in the country's most important strategic decisions,"" a biography attached to Castro's candidacy said. Castro remains intellectually active, writing about the most pressing problems facing Cuba and the survival of the human species, it said.