Sao Tome and Principe’s electoral commission on Monday declared Carlos Vila Nova as the country’s new president after provisional results showed he won the second round of the presidential poll, reported Reuters.
Vila Nova, who is supported by the country’s largest opposition party (ADI), defeated the ruling party’s candidate Guilherme Posser da Costa.
According to official results, Nova secured 57.3 percent of the votes cast while da Costa received 42.46 percent of the votes. The total turnout for the vote was around 65 percent.
The second-round runoff, which was initially set for August 8, was twice postponed. It was delayed after the third-placed candidate in the first round, Delfim das Neves, filed a petition against the result, alleging fraud. His suit was eventually rejected by the Constitutional Tribunal.
After the declaration of the results, Nova thanked Sao Tome and Principe’s people for putting their trust in him.
The 69-year-old Nova worked as a civil servant until 1998 when he ventured into the tourism industry. He later joined politics and served as public works minister between 2010 and 2012. He then became the infrastructure and environment minister from 2014 to 2018. He was elected to parliament in 2018.
Nova also won the first round in July. He will succeed 79-year-old Evaristo Carvalho, who did not run to seek a second five-year term.
Sao Tome and Principe’s president has largely ceremonial powers, authorized to arbitrate in political disputes but not govern. The prime minister of the country, currently Jorge Lopes Bom Jesus of the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP), wields the most power.
Sao Tome and Principe is a Portuguese-speaking nation, consisting of two islands. It lies off the north-western coast of Gabon and is Africa’s second least populated country after Seychelles. Its main exports are cocoa, copra, coffee, sugar, bananas, and palm oil. The country remains overwhelmingly dependent on international aid.
Sao Tome and Principe’s constitutional tribunal has a week to validate the results and hear any challenges.
