Praia: Cape Verde could elect its first woman president on Sunday as former Justice Minister Joana Rosa challenges incumbent President José Maria Neves, who is seeking a second term.
Six candidates are competing in the election, with a runoff scheduled for November 29 if no candidate secures more than half the votes.
Rosa, backed by the opposition Movement for Democracy, is the first woman to run for president since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. A victory for her would also shift the balance of power, putting the presidency and government in rival political camps.
Rosa has centred her campaign on maintaining a balance of power, arguing that the country needs a counterweight to the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which backs Neves and controls the government and most municipalities.
PAICV won a parliamentary majority in May, ending a decade of government led by the Movement for Democracy.
Neves, who won the presidency in 2021 with about 52 per cent of the vote, has pledged to build cross-party support to improve housing, healthcare and education, create jobs and raise wages. Incumbency gives him greater visibility, including among overseas voters, said Roselma Evora, a professor of political science and gender studies at the University of Cabo Verde.
Nearly 77,000 Cape Verdeans living abroad are registered to vote, accounting for almost a fifth of the total electorate.
The Atlantic island nation off West Africa, home to about half a million people, has a record of peaceful transfers of power and competitive elections in a region where these are rare.
In Cape Verde's parliamentary system, the prime minister directs government policy and holds most executive authority. The president's role is largely symbolic, although the directly elected head of state can veto legislation.
Women have held senior cabinet posts, but Cape Verde has never had a female prime minister or president. Rosa's candidacy challenges traditional expectations of women's roles in a society that remains ‘very patriarchal’, Evora said.
Many voters feel distant from their leaders and want a president who understands their daily difficulties. Limited economic prospects are also driving young people to seek opportunities abroad, Evora said.
Rosário Luz, a Cape Verde-based writer, said party loyalties mattered more than Rosa's gender.
“We have a lot of women in politics, but we don't have the policies for women that we should have,” she said.
Women carry much of the financial responsibility for their households in Cape Verde, but government policies have failed to address that burden, Luz said.
