The Presidency for Cape Verde has finally been settled and was won by the liberal opposition candidate, Jorge Carlos Fonseca who beat is socialist rival Manuel Inocencio Sousa with 54.9% of the vote compared to 45.91%.
He won the campaign by promising to modernise the economy, reduce unemployment rates and keep economic growth steady. The outcome of the election means that the Prime Minister and the President are from two different parties, as the Prime Minister José Maria Neves stands for the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, which has a Parliamentary majority of 37 out of 72 seats.
It is a Parliamentary democracy, and the Presidency is very much a ceremonial role. The election was calm and peaceful, and was monitored by the Economic Community of West African States who reported no major irregularities. However the observers did note that there was a need for greater voter participation. Although 305,000 people were registered to vote, only around 60% actually bothered to do so.
Cape Verde is one of the most stable and prosperous nations in Africa, and it has a burgeoning tourism and service industry as the country has few natural resources. The service sector represents around 75% of GDP, while tourism accounts for around 25%. The country had 400,000 visitors in 2010, but this number is increasing rapidly due to ongoing construction of a number of resorts and developments.
In 2008 Cape Verde was only the second African country after Botswana to be promoted by the United Nations from the list of the 50 least developed countries. It is also likely to be one of the few African countries who will meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
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