Cabo Verde / Cape Verde - Election 2001
Cape Verde is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which constitutional powers are shared among the elected Head of State and the head of government. The principal opposition party, the Movement for Democracy (MPD), held power from January 1991 until January 2001, after defeating the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which held power in a one-party state from independence in 1975 until 1991.
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally respects these rights in practice. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of restrictions on freedom of the press. There is a substantial and growing independent press; however, there continued to be criticism by many prominent government and opposition figures of state-controlled television for its failure to exercise properly its role of informing the public regarding political and economic issues. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports in which persons in the media (and other sectors) whose views did not coincide with those of the Government and ruling party were transferred, fired, or subjected to other disciplinary actions. There continued to be reports of media self-censorship.
There are three independent newspapers and one state-owned newspaper. There are six independent radio stations and one state-owned radio station. One television station is state owned, and two others are foreign owned. Foreign broadcasts are permitted. Journalists are independent of government control and are not required to reveal their sources; however, there were credible reports that journalists within the government-controlled media still practiced self-censorship.
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally respects these rights in practice. Throughout the year, labor organizations, opposition political parties, civic action groups, and numerous others exercised their right to assemble without government interference or objection. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of violent demonstrations or police use of force to disperse protestors.
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. The 14 January 2001 polls were the third legislative elections since Cape Verde adopted a multiparty system in 1991. The race was also the tightest so far.
The Movement for Democracy (MPD) was defending its majority in Parliament (it had held 50 of the 72 seats in the outgoing legislature) against the main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which had led Cape Verde to independence from Portugal in 1975 and ruled the country under a single-party system until 1991.
During the electoral campaign, the PAICV criticised the Government's economic policies, taking advantage of the electorate's dissatisfaction with these policies, particularly the liberal privatisation programme. This dissatisfaction surfaced first in February 2000 when the MPD suffered key losses in local elections.
In January Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, former president of the PAICV, was elected by a slim margin of 13 votes over the country's former Prime Minister and MPD president, Carlos Veiga. The PAICV won the legislative elections in January 2001 and had an absolute majority in the National Assembly. The PAICV, formerly a Marxist party, also succeeded in rejuvenating its image under its new President, Jose Maria Neves, the 42-year-old leader who took over as party chief just one year before the election. The National Electoral Commission and the international media judged the January presidential elections, as well as legislative and municipal elections, to be free and fair.
The Constitution provides for the separation of powers. Constitutional powers are shared among President Pires, Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves, and the PAICV party. Cabinet ministers are not required to be members of the National Assembly, but they are individually subject to confirmation by the President. Collectively they must retain the support of a parliamentary majority. The President may dismiss the Government with the approval of the political parties represented in the National Assembly and the Council of the Republic. This council consists of the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, the President of the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General, the Ombudsman, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the former presidents, and five private citizens appointed by the President. The MPD and the Democratic Renovation Party are the main opposition parties.
The percentages of women and minorities in government and politics do not correspond to their percentages of the population; however, there are no restrictions in law or practice regarding the rights of women or members of minorities to vote or to participate in the political process. Women are 11 percent of the deputies elected to the 72-member National Assembly. There are two female cabinet ministers and three female secretaries of state (junior ministers) in the cabinet, which consists of nine ministers and five secretaries of state.
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