Cape Verde | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

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Cape Verde Summary

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is a small drought-scourged West African country located 480 kilometers (300 miles) due west of the westernmost point of Africa. This archipelago of fifteen islands and islets was colonized by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. Due to its strategic location, Cape Verde became a major trading center for the Euro-African slave trade and later served as an important refueling site and communication center. Of the islands' estimated 412,137 inhabitants, the majority are of European and African descent. Following independence in 1975, after more than five hundred years of colonial rule, a one-party state was established and maintained until multiparty elections were held in 1990. Despite economic hardship due to poor natural resources and impending drought conditions, Cape Verde exhibits one of Africa's most stable and democratic governments.

In the 1950s, Cape Verde was linked with Guinea-Bissau under a unified nationalist movement, the African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Following more than a decade of nationalist struggle, Cape Verde became independent on July 5, 1975. Subsequently, both Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau were jointly governed by the PAIGC. Following a coup in Guinea-Bissau in 1980, political unification was abandoned, and the Cape Verde branch of the party was renamed the African Party of Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). From 1981 to 1990 the PAICV was the only legal party.

Increasing pressure from opposition groups and donors led to the abolition of the one-party state in favor of multiparty democracy in the fall of 1990. The country's first multiparty elections resulted in a decisive victory for the Movement for Democracy (MPD) and the appointment of Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro (b. 1944) as president and Carlos Veiga as prime minister. Both men were reelected in 1996. In 2001, the PAICV regained power when Pedro Pires (b. 1934) was elected president and Jose Neves was appointed prime minister.

In 1992 a new constitution was implemented marking the beginning of "the Second Republic." The new Cape Verdean constitution defines the island nation as democratic, unitary, and sovereign. Furthermore, the constitution gives assent to popular will, guarantees peace, justice, human dignity, human rights, and, as its main objective, seeks to create a free, just, and equitable society. The new constitution underwent major revisions in 1995 and 1999, substantially increasing the power of the president and creating the position of national ombudsman.

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)

According to the constitution, the president of Cape Verde is elected by universal adult suffrage for a period of five years, and a two-thirds majority is needed to win the first round of the presidential election. If the requisite majority is not secured, a new election is held within twenty-one days and contested by the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the first round. Further, all voting is done by secret ballot, and legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, which is elected by popular vote. The prime minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president. The executive branch also includes a Council of Ministers, who are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. In addition, there are seventeen municipalities.

The legal system is based on the Portuguese legal system. The government of Cape Verde also maintains diplomatic and working relations with organizations such as the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the United Nation's Group of Seventy-Seven (G-77), the United Nation Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization, among others.