At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Cape Verde

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira Pereira NEVES
• Assembly: Cape Verde has a unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) with 72 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
• In the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) 72 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

*** There are 16 multi-member constituencies with 2 to 15 seats each, depending on the population. Votes are tabulated using the d'Hondt method.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Manuel Inocêncio SOUSA
  • Party: African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde / Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV)
• Jorge Carlos FONSECA
  • Party: Movement for Democracy / Movimento para a Democracia (MPD)

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Manuel Inocêncio SOUSA
  • Party: African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde / Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV)
• Jorge Carlos FONSECA
  • Party: Movement for Democracy / Movimento para a Democracia (MPD)
• Aristide LIMA
  • Independent(s): N/A
• Joaquim Jaime MONTERIO
  • Independent(s): N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 508,659 (July 2010 est.)
• Registered Voters: 304,621 (August 2011 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 251,274 (2011)

·         Is Cape Verde a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Cape Verde ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (5 December 1980)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 15 (following 2011 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 122 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Cape Verde a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Caper Verde ratified CRPD: Yes (10 October 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 74,273 (est.)