Filomena Fortes was first elected as Cape Verdean Olympic Committee President in 2014 ©COC

Filomena Fortes has been re-elected unopposed for a third term as President of the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee (COC) at the body's Elective General Assembly, staged at its headquarters in the capital Praia.

Fortes was first elected in 2014 during a closely fought election with the incumbent Franklin Palma, and has returned to the Presidential position for a second time after her successful campaign in 2017.

In 2019, she was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee,

Her sporting background is mainly in handball, having served as President of the Cape Verdean National Federation from 2014 to 2017.

Fortes was also a founding member of the country's National Paralympic Committee.

Filomena Fortes was re-elected as Cape Verdean Olympic Committee President with 30 of the 32 votes cast ©COC
Filomena Fortes was re-elected as Cape Verdean Olympic Committee President with 30 of the 32 votes cast ©COC

She was the only candidate for the COC Presidential role, and received 30 votes from the COC's recognised sports federations and associations, with two ballots blank.

Her campaign was held under the motto "consolidation, union and progress".

Alfredo Lima, Avelino Bonifácio and Francisco Carapinha will serve as vice-presidents for the next term, and Lizandra Varela and Mário Semedo were both elected as vice on the Executive Committee.

The Fiscal Council will be comprised of Luísa Barros Fernandes, Jorge Pedro Barros Rodrigues Pires and Andrea Cruz Lopes dos Santos.

Cape Verde has yet to win a medal since making its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996 but was represented by its largest athlete delegation to date with six competitors at Tokyo 2020.