Government & politics — São Tomé and Príncipe
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for São Tomé and Príncipe: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
- Country Name
Sao Tome and Principe
- Local - Long
Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe
- Local - Short
Sao Tome e Principe
- Etymology- history of name
Sao Tome was named after Saint THOMAS the Apostle by the Portuguese who discovered the island on 21 December 1470 (or 1471), the saint's feast day; Principe is a shortening of the original Portuguese name of "Ilha do Principe" (Isle of the Prince) referring to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid
- Independence
12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
- National Holiday
Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
Political system
- Government Type
semi-presidential republic
- Constitution
- approved 5 November 1975 amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; the Assembly can propose to the president of the republic that an amendment be submitted to a referendum; revised several times, last in 2006
- Legal System:
mixed legal system of civil law based on the Portuguese model and customary law
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: President Carl
- os Manuel VILA NOVA (since 2 October 2021) head of government: Prime Minister Amé
- rico d'Oliveira DOS RAMOS (since 12 January 2025) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister,
- appointed by the president election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister chosen by the National Ass
- embly and approved by the president most recent election date: 18 July 2021,
- with a runoff on 5 September 2021 election results: 2021: Carlos Manuel VILA NOVA elected president in the second round; percent of vote in the first round - Carlos Manuel VILA NOVA (IDA) 39.5%; Guilherme POSSER DA COSTA (MLSTP-PSD) 20.8%; Delfim NEVES (PCD-GR) 16.9%; Abel BOM JESUS (independent) 3.6%; Maria DAS NEVES (independent) 3.3%; other 15.9%; percent of the vote in second round - Carlos Manuel VILA NOVA 57.5%, Guilherme POSSER DA COSTA 42.5% 2016: 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%
- expected date of next election: 2026
- 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 25 September 2022 (next to be held 30 September 2026)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - ADI 46.81%, MLSTP/PSD 32.70%, MCI-PS -PUN 6.56%, BASTA Movement- 8.8%, other 5.14%
- seats by party - ADI 30, MLSTP-PSD 18, MCI-PS -PUN 5, BASTA Movement 2;
Composition
men 47, women 8, percent of women 14.5%
- 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 a
- re 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:
6 districts (distritos, singular - distrito), 1 autonomous region* (regiao autonoma); Agua Grande, Cantagalo, Caue, Lemba, Lobata, Me-Zochi, Principe*
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Union of Democrats for Citizenship and Development and Force for Democratic Change Movement or MDFM–UDD [Carlos Filomeno Agostinho DAS NEVES]
- Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Patrice TROVADA]
- Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Jorge Lopes Bom JESUS]
- Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group or PCD-GR [Leonel Mario D'ALVA]
- Movement of Independent Citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe [António Monteiro] other small parties
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Sao Tome
- Capital - geographic coordinate
0 20 N, 6 44 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
International role
- 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)
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
embassy
the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the US Ambassador to Angola is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe mailing address: 2290 Sao Tome Place, Washington DC 20521-2290
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador (vacant)
chancery
122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1604 New York, NY 101168
telephone
[1] (212) 317-0533
FAX
[1] (212) 317-0580
Email address and website
- stp1@attglobal.net