Cape Verde: President Neves opens campaign for second term with call for higher wages
Six candidates are contesting the 15 November presidential election in one of Africa's most stable democracies.
Hundreds of supporters of President José Maria Neves gathered on the island of São Vicente as campaigning opened for Cape Verde's presidential election on 15 November.
Mr Neves is seeking a second term with the backing of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which won a majority in the legislative elections in May. Addressing the rally, he made wages a central theme. "It is essential that we begin working to increase salary levels in Cape Verde," he said. "No country grows or competes on the basis of low wages."
Six candidates are standing. The President's principal challenger is expected to be former Minister of Justice Joana Rosa, supported by the Movement for Democracy (MpD). The official campaign closes on 13 November, according to the National Elections Commission.
Cape Verde, an Atlantic archipelago of some 520,000 inhabitants about 600 kilometres off the West African coast, was a Portuguese colony until 1975. Since its first free elections in 1991, it has been regarded as a model of democratic governance in Africa, with no electoral violence despite two periods of political cohabitation. The country nonetheless faces significant social challenges, notably poverty and youth unemployment.