Key Facts
- When: Sunday, 15 November 2026; a runoff, if needed, on Sunday, 29 November.
- Who: Six candidates, led by President José Maria Neves and former justice minister Joana Rosa.
- Ballot: Voters choose among six names; a candidate needs a majority to win in round one.
- Prediction markets: Polymarket (a crypto-based prediction market), 3 November, 4:22 p.m. ET: Neves 86.5%, Rosa about 5%, with about US$34,751 traded.
This story is part of our coverage of the Cape Verde presidential election 2026. Dates, times and how to follow it are in our guide.
Latest: Cabo Verde Picks a President on 15 November
Cabo Verde Heads Into the Final Stretch
Cabo Verde, an Atlantic archipelago off West Africa, picks a president on Sunday, 15 November 2026, and the incumbent is the clear favourite. Our Cabo Verde election hub follows every step.
Campaigning began on 29 October, according to the National Elections Commission (CNE), the body that oversees the vote. A runoff, held only if no candidate wins a majority, is set for Sunday, 29 November.
Six candidates are on the ballot. The date was set by Presidential Decree 22/2026, published in the official gazette on 30 July.
The Candidates and the Contest
José Maria Neves, the sitting president seeking a second term, is backed by the PAICV, the African Party for the Independence of Cabo Verde. Joana Rosa, a former justice minister, is backed by the MpD, the Movement for Democracy.
The other four names on the ballot are Antero Tavares, Casimiro de Pina, Gilson Alves and Loisito Sousa.
Neves won in 2021 with about 51.8% of the vote, ahead of Carlos Veiga, a former prime minister and founder of the MpD, who took 42.4%. Every directly elected president who sought a second term has so far won it, including Mascarenhas Monteiro in 1996, Pedro Pires in 2006 and Jorge Carlos Fonseca in 2016.
Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
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Crypto — Live Market Board
+0.67%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 80,543 | +0.67% | -29.41% | 80,007 | 80,550 | 79,380 | 21,816,416,256 |
| ETH | 2,348 | +1.18% | -43.00% | 2,320 | 2,349 | 2,295 | 8,316,267,520 |
| SOL | 100.98 | +0.22% | -49.19% | 100.75 | 101.04 | 99.17 | 2,110,777,984 |
| XRP | 1.32 | +1.04% | -49.89% | 1.31 | 1.32 | 1.29 | 1,574,615,552 |
| BNB | 750.98 | +1.29% | -34.10% | 741.42 | 751.10 | 733.56 | 1,470,316,160 |
| ADA | 0.21 | -0.30% | -69.21% | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.20 | 190,120,672 |
| DOGE | 0.08 | +0.78% | -60.98% | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 441,746,112 |
| AVAX | 8.84 | -1.36% | -56.54% | 8.96 | 8.96 | 8.67 | 289,961,824 |
| LINK | 11.47 | +0.80% | -37.04% | 11.38 | 11.47 | 11.23 | 248,509,440 |
| DOT | 0.99 | -2.05% | -68.52% | 1.01 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 109,918,912 |
| LTC | 56.59 | -0.13% | -43.06% | 56.66 | 56.87 | 55.70 | 169,852,160 |
| BCH | 290.36 | +3.57% | -47.81% | 280.36 | 292.52 | 277.47 | 195,939,216 |
| TRX | 0.33 | -0.51% | +9.69% | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 371,519,040 |
| XLM | 0.17 | +0.21% | -47.60% | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 107,134,680 |
| HBAR | 0.08 | -1.56% | -58.82% | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 55,674,584 |
| NEAR | 4.62 | +2.60% | +97.50% | 4.50 | 4.64 | 4.39 | 630,712,192 |
| ATOM | 1.61 | -1.48% | -49.28% | 1.64 | 1.64 | 1.60 | 30,012,314 |
| AAVE | 132.37 | -2.36% | -43.78% | 135.57 | 135.87 | 129.56 | 246,790,448 |
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a prediction market where traders stake real money, gave Neves 86.5% and Rosa about 5% on Tuesday, 3 November, at 4:22 p.m. ET. About US$34,751 had been traded, so small moves carry little meaning, and prices are bets, not polls.
Neves stood at 87.5% on 1 November, so the trend is broadly flat. We found no opinion poll from a named institute.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Has Changed Since Our Earlier Reports
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc, has deployed 20 long-term observers across the islands from 3 to 19 November, and about 60 short-term observers are also due.
On 27 October the CNE sent sample ballots to all six candidacies. It stressed strict compliance with electoral law, including campaign-finance limits and equal media access.
We found no new court ruling, official statement, incident or poll dated 2 or 3 November.
What It Means for US Readers
Cabo Verde is a stable democracy off the coast of West Africa, and a strong showing by the incumbent would signal continuity. The CNE publishes official notices and results, and our hub tracks the odds.
Cabo Verde is four hours ahead of New York’s Eastern Time after US clocks went back on 1 November.
What Is Not Known
Official polling hours and the timetable for announcing results are not confirmed in the sources we reviewed. The CNE or the official gazette should settle both.
Polymarket also lists four names that are not on the CNE’s ballot, such as Milton Paiva and Janine Lélis. It is also unknown whether any independent poll will appear before 15 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Cabo Verde presidential election?
The first round is on Sunday, 15 November 2026. A runoff, only if no candidate wins a majority, is on Sunday, 29 November 2026.
What do prediction markets say?
Polymarket gave President Neves 86.5% and Joana Rosa about 5% on 3 November, with about US$34,751 traded. Prices are bets rather than polls, and the market is thin.
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