General Information
At Stake in this Election:
-
The Presidency of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
Government Structure:
-
Chief of State: President Carlos Manuel Vila NOVA (since 2 October 2021)
-
Head of Government: Prime Minister Américo d'Oliveira DOS RAMOS (since 12 January 2025)
-
Assembly: unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) with 55-seats
Electoral System:
-
The president is elected by majority vote in up to two rounds. Successful candidates serve a five-year term and cannot serve more than two terms consecutively.
-
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President upon consultation with the parties represented in the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is generally the leader of the party or coalition holding a majority of seats in parliament.
-
All 55 members of the National Assembly are directly elected via a proportional list system. Votes are allotted using the D’Hondt Method
The last presidential election was held on September 5, 2021. Carlos Vila NOVA won 57.54% of the vote and Guiherme POSSER DA COSTA won 42.46%. Voter turnout was 65%.
Information for Voters: General voter information has been disseminated in Portuguese via the National Election Commission’s Facebook Page. Additional information on preliminary results and the vote allocation system is available via a national Elections Portal.
The sitting president who ran as candidate for the Acção Democrática Independente (ADI) party in the 2021 election will be running for president as an independent in the 2026 polls.
Key Deadlines:
-
Candidate filing deadline: June 4, 2026 (candidate applications were due no less than 45 days before the election)
-
Voter registration deadline: Not applicable. Voter registration is permanent and continuous.
-
Carlos Manuel Vila Nova
-
-
Party: Independent
-
-
Nito D’Abreu
-
-
Party: Acção Democrática Independente (ADI)
-
-
Miques João Bonfim
-
-
Party: Independent
-
-
Eugénio Tiny
-
-
Party: Independent
-
Country Context:
-
Population: 240,254 (2025 est.)
-
Registered Voters: 142,296 (2026)
-
V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index Score: 0.673 (2024)
-
V-Dem Regimes of the World Classification: Electoral Democracy (2024)
-
Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.637, Medium, Rank 141 (2023)
Gender Data:
-
Female Population: 120,885 (2025 est.)
-
CEDAW Status: Signed 31 October 1995, Ratified 3 June 2003
-
Gender Quota: No
-
Female Candidates in this election: No
-
Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 8 out of 55 (14.6%)
-
Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: n/a
Disability Data:
-
CRPD Status: Ascended 5 November 2015
-
Projected population with a disability: 38,441 (2025 est.)