Cape Verde votes for a president, with a runoff set for the end of November if nobody crosses half the votes

15 November 2026

Cape Verde, an island country in the Atlantic Ocean off West Africa, held its presidential election.
Six candidates were in the field and the incumbent, Jose Maria Neves, sought a second term.
A runoff is scheduled for 29 November if no candidate wins more than half the votes.
One of the candidates, the former Justice Minister Joana Rosa, backed by the Movement for Democracy, is the first woman to contest the presidency since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Most executive power there rests with the Prime Minister, who sets government policy, while the President is elected directly and can veto laws.
The archipelago is made up of ten volcanic islands and lies about 600 kilometres off the coast of Senegal.
Its population is about half a million, and nearly 77,000 Cape Verdeans abroad are on the electoral roll.
The country's capital is Praia.