Opposition candidate and former Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves won Cape Verde’s presidential election on Sunday, as his main rival, the ruling party’s flagbearer Carlos Veiga, conceded defeat. Neves, 61, who served as prime minister from 2000-2016, will inherit the responsibility for stabilising the Atlantic archipelago nation’s tourism-driven economy after the COVID-19 pandemic drove it deep into recession. Neves had 51.7 percent of the vote based on official results from 99.4 percent of polling stations, ahead of Veiga with 42.4 percent. Five other candidates all won less than 2 percent each. The transfer of power will be the fourth between the MpD and PAICV since independence from Portugal in 1975, consolidating Cape Verde’s status as one of Africa’s most stable democracies. Neves will have to work with a prime minister from the MpD after the party maintained its parliamentary majority in an April election. His first challenge will be the economy, which contracted 14 percent in 2020 as border closures caused by the pandemic cut off Cape Verde’s beaches and mountains from tourists. It is expected to bounce back this year with growth of nearly 6 percent.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
More Stories
Trends for African Students Seeking Education Abroad
Floods and Landslides Batter Madagascar
Anyone Interested in East Africa’s Dynamic Urbanisation Process should have this Book
Filling the Gap in Locally Grown Techpreneurs
South Africa has Signed an Agreement to Reintroduce Dozens of Cheetahs in India
Enhancing Trust and Security in Digital Africa
Energy Giant Eni Signed an $8 billion Gas Deal with Libya’s State-run National Oil Corporation
Expectations of the Pope’s Visit to Africa
The First Muslim to Helm South Africa’s Biggest Metropolis
The First Africa Vegan Restaurant Week
Lagos Rising: Meet the African Designers Who are Ushering in a New Guard of Fashion
My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum