The island nation of Cape Verde could today elect its first female president, France24 reports.
Former justice minister Joana Rosa is facing the country’s incumbent leader, José Maria Neves, who is seeking a second term.
Six candidates are contesting the race in total. If none of them wins more than half of the vote, a second round will be held on 29 November.
Rosa, backed by the opposition Movement for Democracy, is the first woman to run for president since Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Women have held senior posts in the cabinet, but the islands have never had a female prime minister or president.
In Cape Verde’s parliamentary system, the prime minister sets government policy and holds most executive power. The president’s role is largely symbolic, although the directly elected head of state can veto laws.
This island state on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, home to about half a million people, has a record of peaceful transfers of power and competitive elections in a region where that is rare. Nearly 77,000 Cape Verdeans living abroad are registered to vote, accounting for almost a fifth of the total electorate.
Neves, who won in 2021 with about 52% of the vote, has pledged to secure cross-party backing to improve housing, healthcare and education, create jobs and raise wages in the country.
Rosa’s candidacy also challenges traditional views of women’s roles in a society that remains “highly patriarchal”.
At the heart of her campaign, Rosa has put the issue of maintaining the balance of power, arguing that the country needs a counterweight to the “African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde” — the political force that backs Neves and controls the government and most municipalities.
- Cape Verde is a state made up of 18 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 620 km off the west coast of Africa.
