Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)

Movement for Democracy
Leader Carlos Veiga
Founded 1990
Headquarters Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
Ideology Centrism
Liberalism
Political position Centre-Right
International affiliation Centrist Democrat International
National Assembly
38 / 72
Website
www.mpd.cv

The Movement for Democracy (Portuguese: Movimento para Democracia, MpD) is a liberal party in Cape Verde. Established in 1990, it was the ruling party from 1991 to 2001 and returned to power in the 2016 parliamentary election. Its members are nicknamed "os ventoinhas" (the wind fans).

History

The MpD was established on 14 March 1990 by Carlos Veiga after Prime Minister Pedro Pires of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV, formerly the sole legal party) allowed its creation.[1] The party was publicly launched in May 1990, and its first convention was held in November 1990.

In the January 1991 parliamentary elections, the first multi-party elections in the country's history, the MpD won 56 of the 79 seats in the National Assembly. In the presidential elections the following month, MpD candidate António Mascarenhas Monteiro defeated the incumbent PAICV President Aristides Pereira.

Following the MpD's second convention in January 1993, splits developed within the party, with two groups, List A and List B, emerging.[2] A split in 1994 led to the creation of the Democratic Convergence Party.[3] Despite losing six seats, the party retained its parliamentary majority in the 1995 elections, whilst Monteiro was re-elected unopposed in the presidential elections the following year.

The January 2001 parliamentary elections saw the party lose another 20 seats, as it was defeated by the PAICV. In the February 2001 presidential elections the MpD nominated Veiga, but he was defeated by the PAICV's Pires by just 12 votes in the second round of voting.[4]

In the 2006 parliamentary elections the party lost another seat and was reduced to 29 MPs. Veiga was again defeated by Pires in the presidential elections later in the year.

Despite gaining three seats in the 2011 parliamentary elections, the MpD remained in opposition. However, in the presidential elections in the same year, MpD candidate Jorge Carlos Fonseca defeated the PAICV's Manuel Inocêncio Sousa by 54–46%.

Elections

Presidential

Year Candidate Votes %Votes Votes %Votes Result
First Round Second Round
1991 António Mascarenhas Monteiro 70,623 73.4%   Won
1996 António Mascarenhas Monteiro 81,821 92.1%   Won
2001 Carlos Veiga 60,719 45.8% 75,815 50.0% Lost
2006 Carlos Veiga 83,241 49.0%   Lost
2011 Jorge Carlos Fonseca 60,887 37.8% 97,735 54.3% Won
2016 Jorge Carlos Fonseca 93,01074.08%   Won

Parliamentary

Year Votes %Votes Seats Position
1991 78,454 66.4% 56/79 Majority
1995 93,249 61.3% 50/72 Majority
2001 55,586 40.5% 30/72 Opposition
2006 74,909 44.0% 29/72 Opposition
2011 94,674 42.3% 32/72 Opposition
2016 122,881 54.5% 40/72 Majority

References

  1. ↑ Richard A Lobban Jr & Paul Khalil Saucier (2007) Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cape Verde, Scarecrow Press, p159
  2. ↑ Lobban & Saucier, p161
  3. ↑ Lobban & Saucier, p181
  4. ↑ Elections in Cape Verde African Elections Database
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