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DAKAR: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised the “peaceful and credible” presidential election in Cape Verde and congratulated the winner, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, who was also saluted by the West African archipelago's top leaders.
“The Secretary-General welcomes the holding of the presidential election in Cape Verde on 21 August, which was widely acclaimed by international observers as peaceful and credible,” a UN spokesman for Ban said in a message sent to AFP by the UN office for West Africa (UNOWA), based in Dakar.
Ban also “congratulates Mr. Jorge Carlos Fonseca for winning the run-off election, and wishes him all success in the performance of his new functions,” he said.
Fonseca, a former foreign minister and the opposition candidate, won 54.16 percent of the vote on Sunday, besting his socialist rival Manuel Inocencio Sousa, who garnered 45.84 percent of the vote.
Lauded as an African success story for achieving political and economic stability, the island country keeps afloat through tourism and the service industry despite meagre natural resources and water shortages.
The election in the former Portuguese colony off the northwestern coast of Africa saw a battle between the candidates of the two parties that have dominated the political scene for the past two decades.
The campaign hinged on the need to modernise the economy and keep growth steady while dealing with unemployment rates of up to 18 percent.
Cape Verde is a parliamentary democracy in which the president plays a ceremonial role as head of state.
Outgoing President Pedro Pires, leaving power after two five-year terms, hailed Fonseca's victory.
“I am certain that your contribution will bring new accomplishments to efforts aiming to make Cape Verde more credible, more attractive and more competitive,” Pires said, according to the A Semana newspaper's online edition.
Sunday's election outcome means the new president is from a different party than Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves, who’s African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) holds, a parliamentary majority with 37 of 72 seats.
Neves also congratulated the president-elect and expressed his desire for “the best possible relations” and collaboration.
