Campaigning in Cape Verde stops on Friday night. Saturday is a day of reflection, with no political messaging allowed. On Sunday 15 November, polling stations open at 8 a.m. for the first round of the presidential election. Six candidates are seeking the top job in this small archipelago of ten volcanic islands, about 600 kilometres off the coast of Senegal. The country is often held up as a model of democratic stability in Africa.
Two names stand out. José Maria Neves, 66, was elected in 2021 after leading the government from 2001 to 2016, and is running again under the slogan “Cabo Verde, Vencer Juntos”. He has the backing of the PAICV, which in May took power back from the MpD after a decade in opposition. His main challenger, Joana Rosa Amado, 61, is a lawyer and former justice minister. She is backed by the MpD, now in opposition. Her candidacy is already historic, because no woman had ever run for president in Cape Verde before. She promises an independent presidency that arbitrates between institutions without trying to govern in the prime minister’s place.
Four independents complete the ballot. Antero Tavares, a judge for some twenty years, has made fighting corruption his priority. Lawyer Casimiro de Pina, who came third in 2021, campaigns for strict respect of the Constitution. Surgeon Gilson Alves strikes a tougher note: he wants to legalise gun ownership and bring back the death penalty. The youngest candidate, Loisito Tavares de Sousa, 40, is a teacher and activist from Tarrafal. The Constitutional Court approved his candidacy on appeal.
The real question is the balance of power. Under Cape Verde’s semi-presidential system, the prime minister runs the government while the head of state safeguards the Constitution. A Neves win would put both halves of the executive in PAICV hands. If Joana Rosa wins, the country will enter a period of cohabitation.
The campaign focused on everyday concerns: the cost of living, fuel prices, youth unemployment, expensive travel between the islands and the departure of graduates abroad. That last issue touches a large diaspora, whose members vote at consulates. In the United States alone, the National Elections Commission counts 14,168 registered voters. Some 150 international observers are expected to monitor the vote, including an ECOWAS mission led by former Gambian vice president Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang.
To win outright on Sunday, a candidate needs more than half of the valid votes. If no one gets there, the top two will meet in a runoff on 29 November. The commission must announce the result within three days of finishing the general count, which starts on Monday.