Sao Tome and Principe Presidential Election: Carlos Vila Nova Faces Tough Contest
- Sao Tome and Principe heads to the polls on Sunday as President Carlos Vila Nova seeks a fresh five-year mandate in the cocoa-producing island nation
- The vote comes after Vila Nova’s split from the powerful ADI party, leaving him to run as an independent against three challengers
- With 142,298 registered voters, the election is seen as a crucial test of stability following a reported coup attempt in 2022
Sao Tome and Principe is holding a presidential election on Sunday, with incumbent Carlos Vila Nova seeking a new five-year term.
The small island nation, known for cocoa production, is voting amid political tensions after Vila Nova fell out with the country’s most powerful party.
Source: Getty Images
Vila Nova, a former public works and infrastructure minister, won the last election in 2021 in a runoff. At that time, he had the backing of the Independent Democratic Action party (ADI), which controls the majority in the National Assembly.
However, after dismissing Patrice Trovoada as prime minister last year, Vila Nova split from ADI and is now running as an independent candidate.
According to Reuters Africa, his strongest opponent is Nito Abreu, who has promised to create jobs for young people and reduce what he calls an exodus of youth from the country. Sao Tome and Principe, made up of two main islands, has a population of around 240,000.
Coup attempt shaped Vila Nova’s first term
The country, a former Portuguese colony off Africa’s western coast, has enjoyed peaceful elections since adopting multiparty politics in 1990.
But in 2022, the government announced it had stopped a coup attempt, the first in nearly twenty years. The plot involved at least one member of South Africa’s apartheid-era Buffalo Battalion.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies said the election is a chance to show such violence is “an isolated aberration rather than an ongoing feature of national politics”.
Voting and election process
There are 142,298 eligible voters, according to the election commission. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT) and will close at 6 p.m., with preliminary results expected late Sunday or Monday. A second round will be held if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote. Legislative elections are scheduled for September.
Sao Tome and Principe was once seen as a potential oil producer, but the sector has failed to deliver major discoveries. Cocoa remains the backbone of its economy.
Source: Getty Images
Four killed in Sao Tome's failed coup bid
Legit.ng earlier reported that four people were killed in a failed coup attempt on Sao Tome, the state news agency STP-Press said on Sunday reporting a toll from the armed forces chief of staff.
Source: Legit.ng
