PRAIA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Cabo Verde's National Assembly on Thursday elected Janira Hopffer Almada as its speaker, making her the first woman in the country's history to hold the post.
Almada, a deputy from the African Party for the Independence of Cabo Verde (PAICV), was elected during the constituent session of the 11th legislature, receiving 63 votes in favor from the 72-member parliament. She succeeds Austelino Correia of the Movement for Democracy (MpD), which governed the country over the past decade.
A lawyer by training, Almada, 47, previously served as a minister in governments led by Jose Maria Neves, now president of Cabo Verde. She also led the PAICV from 2014 to 2021, becoming the party's youngest leader and the first woman to head it.
The new legislature was installed after the May 17 legislative elections, in which the PAICV won an absolute majority with 37 of the 72 seats in the National Assembly. The MpD secured 33 seats, while the Democratic and Independent Cabo Verdean Union won two.
Almada is expected to preside over parliamentary work for the next five years, as Cabo Verde enters a new political cycle following the PAICV's return to power. ■