The Republic of Cape Verde is a small island country
with a strong tradition of emigration which goes back to the 19th century, the
result of hard living conditions. Despite the citizens’ need to emigrate,
however, they have never abandoned the bonds that tie them to their home
country, and their currency remittances are an important source of wealth for
the national economy.
In the
light of this evidence, at the time of the first democratic elections held in Cape Verde, in 1991, Cape Verdeans
residing abroad were immediately called upon to participate. In 1992, when a
new constitution was adopted, the right of Cape Verdeans
living abroad to vote was specified in the constitution. However, they can only
participate in elections to the legislature under certain conditions:
(a) they
emigrated from Cape Verde
not more than five years prior to the date of the beginning of voter
registration; or
(b) they
have and are providing for a child or children under 18 years of age or handicapped,
or a spouse or older relative habitually residing in the national territory, at
the date of the beginning of voter registration; or
(c) they
are serving in a state mission or a public service position recognized as such by
the competent authority, or residing outside the national territory as the
spouse of a person in that position; or
(d) if they
have been resident abroad for more than five years, they have visited Cape Verde
within the past three years.
It should
be emphasized that the electoral law did not include any additional requirement
for citizens to prove their bonds to the national territory. Cape Verdean
nationality is enough, and entitlement is not affected if a person has dual or
multiple nationality, even if the other nationality is that of the country
where the citizen is resident at the time. It is, however, noticeable that the
lawmakers were concerned to provide the suffrage only to those Cape Verdeans
living abroad who retain some bonds with the country.
Citizens
resident abroad were divided into three electoral districts in accordance with
their residency—Africa; the Americas;
and Europe and the rest of the world—each electoral
district abroad electing one representative.
Those
living abroad have the right to vote in presidential as well as legislative elections.
Even so, because there were as many Cape Verdean citizens living abroad as were
living in the national territory at the time, a solution was chosen that should
not compromise national independence—otherwise the votes of citizens resident
abroad could have decided the election of a president, whatever the choice of
the residents in the national territory. The compromise solution was a system
of weighting, as follows.Each citizen residing abroad is entitled to one vote,
but these votes must not amount to more than one-fifth at most of the total
votes counted in the national territory. If the total number of votes from
electors registered abroad exceeds this limit, it is converted into a number
equal to that limit and the number of votes cast abroad for each candidate is
adjusted proportionately.
Citizens
resident abroad can stand for election to the National Assembly (the parliament)
but not presidential elections. Candidates for the presidency must have been
resident in the national territory for three years prior to the election and
cannot have dual or multiple nationality.
For
elections to the National Assembly, the provisions in force in 1991 were
preserved in the 1992 constitution, but the number of representatives elected
by citizens residing abroad was increased, entitling those registered abroad to
elect six representatives. The definition of electoral districts abroad and the
distribution of seats between electoral districts was left to be determined by
legislation, and this was done by the Electoral Law for the Election of the
President and the Electoral Law for Elections to the National Assembly, both of
1994. The latter (Law no. 116/IV/94 of 30 December 1994) retained the
definition of the electoral districts abroad provided for by the 1991 electoral
legislation—Africa; the Americas;
and Europe and the rest of the world. Each
electoral district abroad now elects two representatives, out of 72, and has as
headquarters the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.
The
extraordinary constitutional revision of 1995 and the ordinary revision of 1999
kept the established principles unaltered.
Having
defined the current constitutional framework, let us analyse how it works in practice.
Registration
A citizen
must be registered in the electoral registers in order to vote, and the
electoral code establishes specific arrangements for citizens residing abroad.
During the annual registration period, which abroad is from April to June (in
the national territory it is from June to July), registration takes place in
electoral registration commissions functioning at the country’s consulates,
embassies or diplomatic missions. It is worth noting that during the
registration period the electoral registration commissions may, as happens in the
national territory, set up mobile teams to promote the registration of citizens
as close as possible to their place of residence. Outside this registration
period, the consulates, embassies or diplomatic missions promote the
registration of every elector residing within the geographical unit for
registration who seeks any other consular services. It can even be said that a
citizen residing abroad is in a privileged position compared to a citizen
residing in the national territory, since the former can register throughout
the year, while a citizen residing in the national territory can do it only
from June to July each year.
The
management of external voting
The
electoral legislation also sets down specific rules for the organization and
conduct of the electoral process abroad.
As many
polling stations as necessary are organized so that the number of electors for
each polling station does not exceed 800. The polling stations are not confined
to consulates and embassies; their number and location are determined by the
individual in charge of the consular services, in accordance with the rule of
the closest proximity to the voter.
The voting
process is similar in all aspects to the process on the national territory.
There is no postal voting for external electors.
After the
polls close, each polling station board proceeds to determine the partial
results. These results, together with the other electoral materials, are sent
to the respective consular services, which collect all the electoral material
from the polling stations under their jurisdiction. The officers in charge of
the consular services then send all the elements they have received to the
National Elections Commission headquarters in Cape Verde, so that it can proceed
to determine the results for the three electoral constituencies abroad.
There is no
separate budget for external voting.
Turnout
Despite all
the efforts made to engage every citizen abroad in the major decisions
affecting the country, few Cape
Verdeans living abroad
are registered to vote, and few participated in the legislative and
presidential elections held in 2001. In 2001, a total of 28,022 citizens
residing abroad were registered to vote, distributed as follows for the three
electoral districts: Africa 5,720; the Americas
8,120; and Europe and the rest of the world
14,182. Only 7,558 of these registered citizens, or 27 per cent, exercised
their right to vote, as follows: in Africa 2,486; in the Americas 2,812; and in Europe
and the rest of the world 2,260.
According
to available data from 2004, 33,998 citizens residing abroad are properly
registered—5,694 in Africa, 8,152 in the Americas
and 20,152 in Europe and the rest of the
world. The population in the national territory was 434,625, according to the
most recent census (in 2000), and projections suggest that it would have risen
to 475,947 in 2005. The size of the diaspora is estimated at 500,000, including
265,000 in the USA; 80,000
in Portugal; 45,000 in Angola; 25,000 in Senegal;
25,000 in France; and 5,000
in Argentina.
Of these some 50–60 per cent may be eligible to register as electors. The main
challenges for the Cape
Verdean electoral
management bodies is therefore to achieve a higher rate of registration and a
higher turnout.
