President Carlos Vila Nova of Sao Tome and Principe has secured a second five-year term in office, according to preliminary results released by the country’s election commission on Monday.
Vila Nova, who previously served as a public works and infrastructure minister, took Sunday’s election with more than 55% of the vote — a strong enough margin to avoid a runoff, the commission announced at a press conference.
His closest competitor, Nito Abreu, finished with more than 41% of the vote.
Vila Nova first rose to the presidency in 2021 with support from the Independent Democratic Action party, known as ADI, which controls a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
However, a political rift developed last year after Vila Nova dismissed Patrice Trovoada from the prime minister post, causing a break with the ADI. That split left Vila Nova running as an independent on Sunday, facing off against three other candidates.
Abreu had campaigned on a promise to tackle youth unemployment and address what he characterized as a mass departure of young people from the nation. The country consists of two main islands and has a population of roughly 240,000.
Sao Tome and Principe is a former Portuguese colony located off the western coast of Africa. Since transitioning to multiparty democracy in 1990, the nation has maintained a consistent record of free and peaceful elections.
The small island nation is known for cocoa production and was once considered a potential oil-producing country, though significant oil finds have not materialized.
In 2022, the government said it had foiled a coup attempt — the first in nearly 20 years — which involved at least one member of a South African apartheid-era paramilitary group known as the Buffalo Battalion.
