Cape Verde Politics

Cape Verde experienced a peaceful transition to multiparty politics in 1991, when elections brought the MPD to power. Although there had previously been a decade of single-party rule under the PAICV, it had in fact operated a liberal system in which opposition and dissent were tolerated. The large number of Cape Verdeans living abroad, who had remained in contact with the islands, helped to smooth the process as democracy was already widely understood and favored. The main issue for the government now, apart from preserving the present political consensus, is that of economic survival, particularly in periods of drought. An ideological debate continues over the extent of the successes and failures of the PAICV's period of rule.