Registration woes dog Cape Verdean election

Yawu Miller

Linda Barros hadn’t heard that the registration requirements for voting in Cape Verde’s election had changed three weeks ago when she walked into the office of Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, a Dudley Street nonprofit, and saw a man being photographed for a voter identification card.

CVC UNIDO is one of several local organizations authorized to collect photographs and information from registered voters for the cards, which will be mandatory in the Jan. 21 parliamentary election for all voters who do not have a valid Cape Verdean passport.

The agencies forward the information to the Cape Verdean Consulate, which then forwards it to the National Electoral Commission.

Barros says the identification cards are a good idea. A former member of the Cape Verdean parliament who represented the diaspora in the United States, she supported the move for voter ID cards. But Barros says the timing and the outreach were flawed.

“You don’t do this a month before the election,” she said. “It hasn’t been widely publicized.”

The identification cards play a significant role in the election. Anyone with at least one Cape Verdean grandparent can vote in elections for Cape Verde’s parliament and president.

Cape Verdean Consul General Maria deJesus Mascarenhas says her office has reached out to the community through every available means — radio, print, community-based organizations and community leaders — to publicize the new identification cards.

“We did everything in our power,” she said, speaking through an interpreter.

A career diplomat, Mascarenhas has held numerous positions in Cape Verdean government. In her current position, which she has held since October, Mascarenhas finds herself in the middle of a bitter political spat between the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Vede (PAICV) and the opposition Movement for Democracy (MPD).

MPD supporters in Boston fired off an angry letter to Cape Verde’s Election Commission in January alleging that PAICV supporters went door-to-door to collect photographs and documentation of registered voters who are party supporters, giving them an unfair advantage in the up-coming election. MPD activists had requested authorization to do the same, but the Election Commission refused the request.

Mascarenhas says the government of Cape Verde is aware of the accusations, but has taken no action.

“Until this point, we haven’t seen any proof coming from the MPD,” she said.

But MPD activist Jose Barros says the PAICV supporters, including parliamentary representative Manuel Alves, were going door-to-door for several weeks.

“We have the names of

the people who were doing this,” he said. “We have people can testify who that they saw Manuel Alves doing this.”

Despite the controversy, Mascarenhas says she expects the election to be a success.

So far, the consulate has distributed 1,548 identification cards to Boston area residents, according to Mascarenhas, and will issue more between now and the election.

While there are 10,000 Cape Verdeans registered to vote in the area, Mascarenhas said many hold Cape Verdean passports. The consulate regularly issues 150 to 180 passports per month.

“We’re confident that most people will be able to vote,” she said.