ABSTRACT
The data analysed in this paper relate to my fieldwork in Praia, the capital of the Cape Verde islands, during 1990 and 1991. This was a time of very significant change on the islands: the PAICV (Partido Africano da Independencia de Cabo Verde), at the time the ruling (and the only) party, publicly announced that elections would be held for the first time in fourteen years. My research covers this important period, following events as they unfolded during the elections and the first six months of the new republic, now led by the victorious MPD party (Movimento Para a Democracia).
