Cape Verde Watchdog to Track Political Election Promises
As Cape Verde prepares for municipal elections on December 1, a prominent civil society group is making sure local politicians don’t forget their campaign rhetoric once they take office. The Cape Verdean Civil Society Forum (Forum-CV) announced on Thursday that it will systematically record every promise made by candidates to hold winners accountable over the next four years.
A “Watchdog” for the 2024-2028 Mandate
In a newly released manifesto, Forum-CV stated it will maintain an updated database of all commitments made during the 2024 campaign. This record will serve as a monitoring tool throughout the 2024-2028 mandate across all 22 municipalities, ensuring that the actions of elected officials align with their campaign platforms.
“Forum-CV aims to strengthen the role of civil society as an agent of vigilance and cooperation,” the organization stated, emphasizing that it seeks to be a partner in finding solutions while remaining a firm watchdog for the public interest.
Key Demands: Housing and Transparency
Beyond monitoring promises, the Forum’s manifesto outlines several critical priorities for the incoming municipal governments:
- Dignified Housing: The group is calling for urgent action to support low-income populations, noting that the rise of clandestine construction in urban centers highlights a desperate need for formal housing solutions.
- Participatory Budgets: The manifesto advocates for every municipality to adopt participatory budgeting, giving citizens a direct say in how local funds are spent.
- Public Standards: The organization is pushing for the implementation of municipal codes of conduct to improve public cleanliness and the preservation of communal spaces.
Concerns Over Shrinking Competition
The upcoming vote comes amid concerns regarding the health of Cape Verde’s local democracy. Maria do Rosário Pereira, president of the National Elections Commission (CNE), noted a significant drop in the number of independent citizen groups participating in the race.
This year, only ten forces—five political parties and five citizen movements—are competing. This is a sharp decline from four years ago, when 16 groups sought office. Pereira warned that this trend suggests a “decrease in electoral competitiveness” and signaled a need to strengthen the country’s democratic fabric to avoid setbacks.
The Electoral Landscape
Approximately 352,000 voters are registered to head to the polls. Half of the electorate is concentrated in the major hubs of Praia, São Vicente, and Santa Catarina.
The incumbent Movement for Democracy (MpD) currently dominates the municipal map, holding leadership in 14 municipalities following the 2020 elections. The main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), holds the remaining eight. As the campaign heat intensifies, Forum-CV’s new initiative ensures that whatever the outcome, the winners will be under constant scrutiny from the people they serve.
Image: Pexels – Sora Shimazaki
