Cape Verde elects on national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature.
The president is elected for a five-year term by the people.
The National Assembly (Portuguese: Assembleia Nacional) has 72 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation.
Cape Verde has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party.