Cape Verde holds vote as opposition poised to gain ground

Cape Verde held parliamentary elections on Sunday in which the main opposition Movement for Democracy (MpD) party stood a strong chance of taking back the island's legislature after 15 years in the minority. A cluster of 10 volcanic islands 570 km (350 miles) off Senegal, Cape Verde stands out as a pocket of relative stability in the region, having avoided the kinds of coups and civil wars that have plagued its neighbors on the mainland. While current President Jorge Carlos Fonseca won the presidency in 2011 with MpD backing, the PAICV has controlled parliament for the past decade and a half, allowing it to name the nation's prime minister and government.