In Cape Verde, the team election will be held on Sunday 18 April. Voters are urged to renew the 72 members of the National Assembly from which the head of government comes, with significant executive powers. Iceland and Portuguese-speaking countries, members of ECOWAS, Cape Verde, accustomed to democratic exchanges, are a model for stability in the region.
as reported from Dakar, Charlotte idrac
Following a campaign under the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly 600 candidates from six parties are vying for these elections.
However, two main groups dominate Cape Verdean political life: the Movement for Democracy (MPD), a liberal center-right trend, led by outgoing Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and the Cape Verde Independence Party (PAICV), former sole party and member of Socialist International. Leading the way: Janira Hopffer Almada, who hopes to become the first woman to lead the government.
The MPD, winner of the last election five years ago, says it is safe to retain its majority in the assembly, but the opposition is attacking the government on its handling of the pandemic and its economic consequences. The tourism sector, which represents a quarter of Cape Verde’s GDP, is plagued by the health crisis.
Other key themes highlighting the campaign: youth, the diaspora – more important in number than Cape Verdean’s residents of the archipelago, according to the International Organization for Migration – or the climate, while the country is facing drought.
The presidential election is then scheduled for October 17.
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