Cape Verde, eyeing economic recovery, votes for new president

FILE PHOTO: Cape Verde's Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves speaks during a news conference with his Portuguese counterpart Pedro Passos Coelho (not pictured) at the Necessidades palace in Lisbon December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/File Photo

PRAIA (Reuters) - The West African archipelago nation of Cape Verde, one of the continent's most stable democracies, voted on Sunday for a new president who will be tasked with righting its tourism-driven economy after the COVID-19 pandemic sent growth cratering.

Seven candidates are vying to replace the term-limited Jorge Carlo Fonseca, but only two are considered real contenders: Carlos Veiga from Fonseca's centre-right Movement for Democracy (MpD) and Jose Maria Neves of the leftist African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV).