Policy-making and Cohabitation in Cabo Verde: A New Experience

Cohabitation is not a frequent occurrence in Africa, despite the high prevalence of semi-presidential constitutions on the continent. Only Cabo Verde, Niger and São Tomé and Principe have gone through periods of cohabitation between a president and prime minister from opposing parties. A particularly interesting case is Cabo Verde that experienced its first and so far only instance of cohabitation immediately following constitutional amendments introduced in 2010 mandating that presidential and legislative elections not be concurrent. The first presidential election to follow these amendments, in September 2011, resulted in the country’s first situation of effective cohabitation (apart from a short two-month period in early 2001) - a strong reminder of the significance of concurrent elections if the desire is to avoid cohabitation. Cohabitation did not last, however, beyond the five-year legislative term. The 2016 legislative elections returned the country to a situation of unified government. Cabo Verde’s recent experience allows us to take a closer look at what cohabitation has meant for policy-making in this nascent African democracy which thus far has been one of the most resilient on the continent. Not only has Cape Verde remained democratic without interruption since transitioning to multi-party democracy in 1990. The small island nation has also performed well in terms of economic growth and governance. Moreover, in contrast to many African countries, Cape Verde has developed a two-party system, with clear differentiation in terms of ideology and policy priorities between the two main parties, for example with regards to the role of government in the economy and free trade. What did cohabitation mean for policy-making in this nascent democracy? Did cohabitation result in intra-executive conflict due to ideological differences between president and prime minister? Were there tensions over appointments to public offices? If so, how were these conflicts and tensions managed? How was power shared in foreign policy matters in particular, which is often considered a reserved policy area for the president, whether explicitly or implicitly? The Cabo Verde experience provides insights into how a nascent semi-presidential democracy can address the challenges to policy-making provided by cohabitation and how its political institutions and practices can adapt to and overcome the particular stresses that cohabitation can entail between a president and a prime minister from two opposing parties.