- If legislative elections in Cape Verde had taken place one month ago, the governing PAICV would have won with a large majority. Opposition party MpD would have come in second place, while the UCID would have just missed electing one legislator for the São Vicente circle.
These are the results of a poll conducted by Marktest in Cape Verde. The results of the survey, which was paid for by the PAICV, have been deposited in the National Elections Commission, as required by the nation's electoral code, and are included in today's printed edition of 'A Semana'.
According to the poll's figures, the ruling PAICV would have elected 42 of the nation's 66 National Assembly seats, with the MpD electing only 24.
In most recent elections, the PAICV and the MpD have polled almost equally, with very small margins deciding the electoral victory. The very strong position of the ruling party therefore is somewhat surprising in Cape Verde.
Given the poll results, the PAICV would have seen its best results (in percentage terms) on the island of Boa Vista, where it would have garnered 58 percent of the votes cast.
Following Boa Vista would come Praia, the capital, where Marktest determined the PAICV would have won 51.7 percent of the votes, giving it 11 of the 15 seats reserved for the electoral circle. In São Vicente, the second most important electoral circle in Cape Verde following Praia, the PAICV would have won 38.6 percent of the vote, giving it 7 of the circle's 11 seats.
The PAICV's poorest performance would have been on the islands of Brava and São Nicolau, with 26.7 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively. Even so, the party would have managed to maintain its current parliamentary representation on the two islands, with one legislator for each of the circles.
For its part, the main opposition party MpD, would have performed best in percentage terms on the island of São Nicolau, with 49.9 percent of the vote, and in São Filipe (island of Fogo), with 46.8 percent, giving it four of the circle's eight National Assembly seats. In Praia the MpD would have gotten 21.6 percent of the total votes, giving it four seats, while in São Vicente the percentage would have been slightly higher, at 26.8 percent, also giving it four seats.
The country's other political formations, with the exception of the UCID, are practically invisible in the Marktest poll. With the poll results presented by Marktest, only PAICV and the MpD would have gained representation in the Praia parliament.
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