PRAIA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Cape Verde President José Maria Neves is expected to win a second term on Sunday, an outcome that would cement full control of government by the island nation’s oldest political party after its victory in legislative elections earlier this year.
Situated more than 600 km (373 miles) west of mainland Africa, the former Portuguese colony is home to around only 500,000 people, although it made headlines this year when its men's soccer team embarked on a fairytale run to the World Cup knockout stage.
Neves' main challenger is Joana Rosa, a former justice minister and Cape Verde's first woman presidential candidate. Analysts put Neves as the clear favourite to win another five years in office, after a race that has highlighted issues like employment and stemming outward migration.
"We must also find ways to ensure that young people can build their futures here at home and prevent the continued exodus of young Cape Verdeans abroad," Rosa told Reuters.
"This outflow creates domestic problems and slows down our development process."
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Cape Verde, also in the news this year when a cruise ship carrying hantavirus-infected passengers became stranded off its coast, operates under a hybrid presidential-parliamentary model. The prime minister heads the government while the president retains significant powers including veto authority and a mediating role.
Neves is backed by the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which won 37 out of 72 seats in legislative elections in May, allowing Francisco Carvalho to become prime minister.
His opponent Rosa is from the Movement for Democracy party, which had governed for 10 years prior to the legislative vote.
Neves, who served as prime minister for 15 years beginning in 2001, told Reuters he had spent his first term as president trying to reach as many Cape Verdeans as possible, "taking the presidency to the islands" and to the diaspora in Africa and the US.
His goals in a second term would include organising a "Youth Convention" focused on employment needs and a forum to identify development priorities between now and 2050, he said.
"I want to inspire Cape Verdeans and mobilise them to accelerate progress towards inclusive economic growth, while implementing the reforms needed to deliver better wages, higher incomes and an improved quality of life," he said.
Rosa, for her part, said she was running to "demonstrate women's capabilities", attract foreign investment and ensure a balance of power in government instead of total control by PAICV.
(Reporting and writing by Julio Rodrigues; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Susan Fenton)
