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afrol.com, 26 February - In a situation where only 533 votes part the two presidential candidates in the preliminary results of the second round of the elections, the final, recounted results will not be published before Thursday, 1 March. Adriano Freire, President of the National Election Commission, today at a press conference in Praia said "at this moment it is not possible to know who is the winner because any single vote could make the difference." He added that "the results so far only can disclose a trend" and announced that the final results would not be presented before Thursday. In the preliminary results, Carlos Veiga has an advantage of 533 votes to Pedro Pires, thus leading by 50,18 percent of the votes against 49,82 percent. A total of 152,402 Cape Verdians made use of their right to vote, representing 58,84% of the electorate. Earlier today, both candidates had made statements claiming they had won the election. Leading Carlos Veiga even claimed that if any other result would come about, it would mean that there had been a manipulation of the poll. A possible manipulation was quickly rejected by the Election Commission, however. Pedro Pires, after claiming victory, on the other hand demonstrated a more pragmatic view, saying "the only valid result is that of the people," according to Portuguese International Radio (RDP). None of the candidates had gained more than 50% of the vote on the 12 February poll, and Carlos Veiga (MPD) and Pedro Pires (PAICV) reached 45% and 47% of the vote respectively. 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.
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