Cape Verde is currently voting to decide who will be the next president of this tiny Archipelago which consists of 10 main islands and eight islets. It is considered to be a politically and economically stable country, in spite of having little natural resources.
The current president Pedro Pires, who is a member of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV)was first elected in 2001 and is stepping down after two terms. During these terms he has seen a decade of growth averaging 6% annually, the construction of three international airports and a huge improvement in infrastructure.
A vote on the Sunday saw the former Foreign Minister and law professor, Jorge Carlos Fonseca from the opposition Movement for Democracy (MFD) pull slightly ahead of his rival Manuel Inocencio Sousa for the PAICV. Fonseca gained 37% of the votes while Sousa gained 33.9%.
The second round of voting takes place on August 21 and Sousa is confident of gaining more votes while Fonseca is equally confident of winning the presidency for the opposition party. These two parties have dominated politics in the Archipelago since multi-party elections were first held in 1991, and both have ruled for around 10 years.
The whole voting process was overseen by an 80 member observer mission from the Economic Community of West African States, and was proclaimed to be calm and orderly with no irregularities recorded. In February the PAICV won a majority in parliament, and legislative polls saw the current Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves re-elected as head of government.
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