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afrol.com, 12 February - The presidential elections on Cape Verde on Sunday have not produced final results yet, but the numbers between the to main candidates are fairly even. Pedro Pires, campaigning for the African Party of the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), has already stated he will now prepare "to win in the second round" due on 25 February. As almost all of the numbers are counted, Pedro Pires (PAICV) has gained 45,2% of the votes while Carlos Veiga of the ruling Movement for Democracy (MPD) has gained 47,4% of the votes. The electorate system of Cape Verde demands that one candidate gains the absolute majority of the votes. Therefore, chances are high that there will be conducted a second round. According to the National Electoral Commission, there had been no irregularities reported in the election, Portuguese radio reported today. Only the results were produced later than expected due to "data" problems. The numbers published from the Electoral Commission however already show that participation in the election was very low. Only 50,6% of the electorate used its right to vote, down from 56% in the legislative elections held on 14 January. Pedro Pires blamed the low participation on "a voter fatigue" as there had passed little time since the legislative election. Over one tenth of the Cape Verdean population lives abroad, many in Portugal and in the US, and these also had right to participate in Sunday's elections. The Electoral Commission has however published numbers indicating that only 12% of the Cape Verdean electorate living in Portugal had voted. Pedro Pires in a press conference today said he was now preparing for the second round, especially focusing on those who did not go to the polls on Sunday. Pires is the presidential candidate of the PAICV, the party that ruled Cape Verde under a one-party system from independence in 1975 to 1991, when it voluntarily introduced a multi-party system and lost power to the MPD. The transition to a democratic multi-party system was peaceful and quiet, and was considered a model. Pires was at that stage Prime Minister. Carlos Veiga followed him as Prime Minister in 1991, a post he held until last year. President Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro (independent) is stepping down after having served the two terms the Constitution allows him. He thereby follows up the positive democratic trends Cape Verde has experienced for over one decade. Also economically, Cape Verde has achieved successes lately. Cape Verde's real GDP grew by 8 percent in both 1998 and 1999, and its inflation rate was halved to some 4 percent between 1997 and 1999. "The country has made progress in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform," the IMF concludes in its report on Cape Verde.
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