PRAIA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Cabo Verde's National Elections Commission (CNE) on Friday announced the final results of the May 17 legislative elections, confirming the victory of the African Party for the Independence of Cabo Verde (PAICV), which secured an absolute majority in parliament.
According to official figures presented by CNE President Maria do Rosario Goncalves at a press conference in Praia, 193,335 of the 416,096 registered voters cast their ballots, while abstentions stood at 222,761.
The PAICV won 90,660 votes, followed by the Movement for Democracy (MpD) with 84,458 votes and the Democratic and Independent Cabo Verdean Union (UCID) with 9,812 votes. The People, Work and Solidarity party (PTS) received 3,268 votes, while the Popular Party (PP) obtained 529 votes.
Based on the final results, the PAICV won 37 of the 72 seats in the National Assembly. The MpD secured 33 seats, while the UCID won two. The PTS and the PP failed to win any seats.
"The final results confirm the sovereign will of the Cabo Verdean people, expressed at the ballot box on May 17 and peacefully accepted by all political forces and citizens in general," Goncalves said.
She said that, following the publication of the final results in the Official Gazette on Friday, the president of the republic may consult the political parties that contested the elections and, in principle, invite the party declared the winner to form the government.
The National Assembly may meet within 20 days from Friday to open the new legislature and swear in the 72 elected deputies, she added. ■