Direct presidential elections were held for the first time in

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

on 17 February 1991, as previously the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

had elected the President. The result was a victory for

António Mascarenhas Monteiro António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro (; 16 February 1944 – 16 September 2016) was the first democratically elected President of Cape Verde from 22 March 1991 to 22 March 2001. Early life and education Born in Ribeira da Barca in 1944 ...

of the Movement for Democracy, which had also won the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

the previous month. He defeated incumbent

Aristides Pereira Aristides Maria Pereira (; 17 November 1923 – 22 September 2011) was a Cape Verdean politician. He was the first President of Cape Verde, serving from 1975 to 1991. Biography Pereira was born in Fundo das Figueiras, on the island of Boa V ...

of the

African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde ( pt, Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde, PAICV) is a democratic socialist political party in Cape Verde. It was formerly a Marxist–Leninist communist party and the sole legal pa ...

. Voter turnout was 61.4%.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An exp ...

, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p201 Monteiro took office on 22 March.

Results

References

{{Cape Verdean elections

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Presidential elections in Cape Verde 1991 in Cape Verde February 1991 events in Africa