Polling stations in Cape Verde opened at 8 a.m. this Sunday, 15 November, and will close at 6 p.m. local time. Around 420,000 voters are called to choose the president of this small Atlantic archipelago off the coast of Senegal. The vote is taking place in a calm atmosphere, in keeping with the reputation of a country that Freedom House regularly ranks among Africa’s leading democracies.
Six names appear on the ballot. The Constitutional Court approved five of them on 21 September, then admitted a sixth on appeal three days later. Two candidates dominate the race. José Maria Neves, 66, who served as prime minister from 2001 to 2016 and has been president since 2021, is seeking a second term with the support of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). His main rival, Joana Rosa, 61, a lawyer and former justice minister, carries the banner of the Movement for Democracy (MpD). She is the first woman in the nation’s history to run for its highest office.
The four remaining contenders stand without party backing. Among them, 45-year-old surgeon Gilson Alves has drawn attention with a hardline message, pledging to fight corruption, allow citizens to own guns and bring back the death penalty. Casimiro de Pina, Antero Tavares and Loisito Sousa complete the field.
The incumbent enters the contest from a position of strength. His party won the 17 May legislative elections with 37 of the 72 seats in the National Assembly, against 33 for the MpD, which had been in government until then. That defeat led Ulisses Correia e Silva to step down as MpD leader after thirteen years at the helm. The PAICV now runs the government, so a Neves victory would end the cohabitation that defined his first term. Should Joana Rosa win, the situation would be reversed, with an opposition president facing a PAICV executive.
Cape Verdean electoral law imposes an unusual rule. As soon as he publicly announced his candidacy in Praia on 14 September, José Maria Neves had to suspend his duties, because the electoral code bars any candidate from holding office in a sovereign body during the race. The speaker of the National Assembly, Janira Hopffer Almada, is serving as interim head of state until the results are declared.
Emigration is the other key factor in this election. More Cape Verdeans live abroad than at home, and registered voters in the diaspora numbered close to 77,000 in September, roughly 18% of the electorate. Their ballots, cast in Europe, the United States and elsewhere in Africa, could tip a close result. Turnout remains the other unknown: fewer than half of voters took part in the May legislative elections, and abstention stood at around 52% in the 2021 presidential vote.
Throughout the campaign, which opened on 29 October and closed on 13 November, the leading candidates focused on better air and sea links between the islands, expanding tourist accommodation and creating jobs. These issues matter deeply to a population scattered across ten islands and an economy heavily reliant on tourism.
Under Cape Verde’s semi-presidential system, the prime minister directs government policy while the head of state acts as an arbiter. The president’s powers are nonetheless real: he or she can veto laws and dissolve parliament, except during the twelve months following a legislative election and in the final year of the presidential term.
To win outright on Sunday, a candidate must secure more than half of the valid votes cast, with blank ballots excluded from the count. In 2021, José Maria Neves cleared that threshold in the first round with nearly 52% of the vote, ahead of Carlos Veiga. If no one wins an absolute majority, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff scheduled for 29 November. Early trends are expected this evening.