Cape Verde: An African Exception

Abstract

At a time when there is a widespread conviction that various obstacles are preventing African countries from advancing to democratic consolidation and that the main issue is whether democratic regimes will survive at all, the small West African island republic of Cape Verde stands out as a successful case of political reform. In January and February 2001, this Portuguese-speaking country of slightly more than 400,000 people held its third parliamentary and presidential elections since its democratic opening began in 1990. The result was that the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which had been ousted from office by the Movement for Democracy (MPD) in 1991, regained a majority in the National Assembly and saw its favored candidate win the presidency. Although the elections were hotly contested and not free of complaints about vote-rigging, respect for the rule of law and democratic competition prevailed. Few other African countries have experienced a renewed change of government after successful founding elections, Benin and S~ao Tome and Principe being among them. A few others have also recorded notable changes of government through elections in recent years, including Ghana, Senegal, and of course Mauritius, where this has occurred more often than anywhere else in Africa. While countries such as Botswana or South Africa, where a single party enjoys sustained electoral dominance, can still be candidates for democratic consolidation, the experience worldwide has been that extended rule by a single party, even if legitimated by elections, more often than not undermines accountability and transparency. What makes the comparative success of Cape Verde’s democratic Peter Meyns is professor of politics at the University of Duisburg in Germany. His recent publications include Konflict und Entwicklung im Sudlichen Afrika (2000) and, as coeditor, Transformationsprobleme im portugiesischsprachigen Afrika (2001).