Africa-Press – Cape verde. ape Verde will for the first time have a candidate for the country’s place in the Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP), created in 2007, announced this Tuesday José Ascenso, promoter of the list running in the elections scheduled for Sunday.
The only candidate for Cape Verde, 65 years old, retired professor and lawyer, born in Moçâmedes, Angola, promises to be an “uncompromising” voice in defense of the Portuguese and the Portuguese-Cape Verdean community, in the four years of his term, with a focus on increasing cooperation, he said at a press conference, in Mindelo, São Vicente island, where he lives.
At the CCP, he intends to defend “more cooperation” , both in quantitative terms, “ and in terms of quality” , whether at the level of “ the one that is most visible, such as the Escola Portuguesa [de Cabo Verde]” , such as its headquarters in Praia and which A center in Mindelo opened this academic year, as regards actions such as less visibility in terms of higher education and training in Medicine, among others.
José Ascenso says he has a “ deep conviction ” that his action can make a difference.
The candidate heads to Sunday’s election with the motivation that List A – which includes the alternate candidate Débora Veiga, 34 years old, a doctor from Mindelo – has gathered 103 subscribers, above the minimum required of 75.
It is only regrettable that the Portuguese authorities were unable to prepare a voting place for the CCP in Mindelo, where the majority of subscribers to the list reside, with the election taking place at a single polling station in the capital, Praia, on the island of Santiago, in the consular section from the Portuguese embassy.
The CCP is the Government’s advisory body for policies relating to emigration and Portuguese communities abroad.
Sunday’s elections are the first since the last change to the law that regulates it, in August.
The maximum number of advisors increased from 80 to 90, as well as the number of circles (from 50 to 52) and gender parity increased to 50%.
There is also a 12-year limit on the terms of office of advisors and the obligation for the CCP, as a Government consultation body, to be heard in executive initiatives that concern the diaspora, despite its positions being non-binding.
Advisors also begin to attend the work of the Assembly of the Republic, including parliamentary committees, which deal with matters relating to Portuguese communities, especially when subject to mandatory consultation. The Week with Lusa
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