Sao Tome and Principe Government

Who is the president of Sao Tome and Principe?

Executive Branch:

chief of state: President Evaristo CARVALHO (since 3 September 2016)

head of government: Prime Minister Jorge Bom JESUS (since 3 December 2018)

cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 July 2016 and 7 August 2016 (next to be held in July 2021); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president

election results: Evaristo CARVALHO elected president; percent of vote - Evaristo CARVALHO (ADI) 49.8%, Manuel Pinto DA COSTA (independent) 24.8%, Maria DAS NEVES (MLSTP-PSD) 24.1%; note - first round results for CARVALHO were revised downward from just over 50%, prompting the 7 August runoff; however, on 1 August 2016 DA COSTA withdrew from the runoff, citing voting irregularities, and CARVALHO was declared the winner

Citizenship Criteria:

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Sao Tome and Principe

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Legal System:

mixed legal system of civil law base on the Portuguese model and customary law

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Legislative Branch:

description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 7 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2022)

election results: percent of vote by party - ADI 41.8%, MLSTP/PSD 40.3%, PCD-GR 9.5%, MCISTP 2.1%, other 6.3%; seats by party - ADI 25, MLSTP-PSD 23, PCD-MDFM-UDD 5, MCISTP 2; composition - men 45, women 10, percent of women 18.2%

Judicial Branch:

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal Justica (consists of 5 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 5 judges, 3 of whom are from the Supreme Court)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the National Assembly; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president of the republic and elected by the National Assembly for 5-year terms

subordinate courts: Court of First Instance; Audit Court

Regions or States:

2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome

Political Parties and Leaders:

Democratic Movement of Forces for Change or MDFM [Fradigue Bandeira Melo DE MENEZES]

Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Patrice TROVOADA]

Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Aurelio MARTINS]

Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Leonel Mario D'ALVA]

other small parties

International Law Organization Participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

International Organization Participation:

ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, CD, CEMAC, CPLP, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic Representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Filomeno Azevedo Agostinho das NEVES (since 3 December 2013)

chancery: 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807, New York, NY 10017

telephone: [1] (212) 651-8116

FAX: [1] (212) 651-8117

Diplomatic Representation from US:

the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the US Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands