At stake in this election:

• 72 seats in the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional)

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.

* On December 8, 2005, President of the Parliament Aristides Raimundo LIMA became Acting President of the Republic per a constitutional requirement that Pedro PIRES suspend his duties of office while he runs in this election.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) 72 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: African Party for Independence of Cape Verde
  • Leader: Jose Maria Pereira NEVES
  • Seats won in this election: 41
  • Seats won in last election: 40
• Party: Movement for Democracy / (MPD)
  • Leader: Agostinho LOPES
  • Seats won in this election: 29
  • Seats won in last election: 30
• Party: Democratic and Independent Cape Verdean Union / (UCID)********
  • Leader: Antonio MONTEIRO
  • Seats won in this election: 2
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Democratic Renovation Party / (PRD)
  • Leader: Victor FIDALGO
  • Seats won in this election: 0
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Social Democratic Party / (PSD)
  • Leader: Joao ALEM
  • Seats won in this election: 0
  • Seats won in last election: 0

******** In the last parliamentary election, UCID ran as part of the Democratic Alliance for Change (ADM) coalition which won two seats. The ADM coalition also included the Democratic Convergence Party (PCD) and the Labor and Solidarity Party (PTS). In this election, PCD is running in coalition with MPD, and PTS is running in coalition with PAICV.

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last parliamentary election was held on January 14, 2001.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 475,947 (January 2006 est.)
• Registered Voters: 322,735 (January 2006 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 243,893 (2006)

·         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: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 11 (following 2006 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: 71,392 (est.)