Cape Verde could elect its first woman president on Sunday, as former Justice Minister Joana Rosa challenges incumbent José Maria Neves, who is seeking a second term. Six candidates are competing, and a runoff is scheduled for Nov. 29 if no candidate receives more than half the votes. Rosa, backed by the opposition Movement for Democracy, is the first woman to run for president since the island nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
Women have held senior cabinet posts in Cape Verde, but the country has never had a female prime minister or president. The head of state's role is largely symbolic in the parliamentary system, where the prime minister directs government policy and holds most executive authority, although the directly elected president can veto legislation. 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 that is rare.S1
Neves won in 2021 with about 52% of the vote and has pledged to build cross-party support to improve housing, healthcare and education, create jobs and raise wages. Rosa has centred her campaign on maintaining a balance of power, arguing the country needs a counterweight to the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, known as PAICV, which backs Neves and controls the government and most municipalities. The party won a parliamentary majority in May, ending a decade of government led by the Movement for Democracy. A Rosa victory would put the presidency and government in rival political camps.S1
Nearly 77,000 Cape Verdeans abroad are registered to vote, almost a fifth of the total electorate, and incumbency gives Neves greater visibility among overseas voters, according to Roselma Évora, a professor of political science and gender studies at the University of Cabo Verde. Évora said many voters feel distant from their leaders and want a president who understands their daily difficulties, while limited economic prospects are driving young people to seek opportunities abroad. She also said Rosa's candidacy challenges traditional expectations of women's roles in a society that remains "very patriarchal."S1
Cape Verde-based writer Rosário Luz said party loyalties matter 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.S1
