The Constitutional Court of Cabo Verde has admitted Loisito Tavares de Sousa's candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for November 15, 2026. This decision, stated in the court's ruling No. 80/2026, dated September 24, 2026, was made public by the National Elections Commission (CNE) on September 27, 2026. The court initially rejected Tavares de Sousa's candidacy due to an alleged failure to meet the territorial distribution requirement.
The initial rejection was based on the fact that only five or more subscriptions were confirmed in nine municipalities, whereas the law requires this number in at least ten municipalities. However, the candidate's representative appealed the decision, arguing that five subscriptions from the Ribeira Brava municipality in São Nicolau had been submitted to the court, but the respective electoral registration certificates were provided later.
Upon re-examining the case, the court's plenary confirmed that the five documents related to the proponents of the candidacy in Ribeira Brava had indeed been received by the court on September 16, 2026. An internal information note acknowledged that, due to an oversight, no reference was made to the declarations of the proponents that were not accompanied by the respective electoral registration certificates.
The court's evaluation also considered an internal information note that confirmed the existence of at least five complete subscriptions in ten municipalities, thus fulfilling the territorial distribution requirement outlined in the Electoral Code. Following this assessment, the court concluded that Tavares de Sousa's candidacy had been rejected due to an error in the internal information that supported the initial decision.
The admission of Loisito Tavares de Sousa's candidacy brings the total number of approved candidates to six. The other approved candidates are Gilson João dos Santos Alves, Joana Gomes Rosa Amado, José Maria Pereira Neves, Antero Lúcio Lopes Francês Tavares, and Casimiro Jesus Lopes de Pina. The court's decision allows for the participation of these six candidates in the presidential elections.
The court's ruling emphasized that the candidacy should not be prejudiced due to an error in the internal information. The decision ensures that the rights of participation of the citizens who proposed the candidacy are not negatively affected. The National Elections Commission (CNE) is expected to proceed with the electoral process.
The presidential elections in Cabo Verde are set to take place on November 15, 2026. The approved candidates will compete for the top position in the country. The Electoral Code requires candidates to meet specific requirements, including the collection of a minimum number of signatures from registered voters.
Key points
- The Constitutional Court of Cabo Verde has admitted Loisito Tavares de Sousa as the sixth candidate for the presidential elections.
- The court's decision was based on the correction of an error in the internal information that led to the initial rejection of Tavares de Sousa's candidacy.
- The presidential elections in Cabo Verde are scheduled for November 15, 2026, with six approved candidates.
