The election day for the presidential elections in São Tomé and Príncipe is proceeding normally this Sunday, both in the archipelago and in the diaspora, despite the suspension of voting in two localities due to neighborhood protests, official sources reported.

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A total of 142,674 voters are called to the polls in this key event for the country’s democratic stability. The four candidates competing for the head of state have already cast their votes, including the current president and candidate for re-election, Carlos Vila Nova, who is running as an independent.

Vila Nova, who voted in the center of the capital accompanied by his wife, defended the country’s “high democratic culture” and criticized attempts to boycott recorded in some areas, according to local media.

“Not voting is agreeing with what others want,” declared the president after insisting that preventing suffrage is not the way to solve local problems.

Every vote counts. Every voice matters.
Today, we encourage all citizens of São Tomé and Príncipe to exercise their right to vote peacefully, responsibly and with confidence.
The participation of every citizen strengthens democracy.#UNDP #SaoTomeAndPrincipe #Democracy #Elections pic.twitter.com/oiLbvCpXas

— UNDP Sao Tome and Principe (@UndpStp) July 19, 2026

The normality of the process was only altered in the community of Messias Alves, Cantagalo district (southeast), where a polling station with 390 registered voters did not open due to a protest demanding drinking water and better access.

Likewise, another polling station with 95 voters in Ilhéu das Rolas (south) remained closed due to demands for greater institutional attention.

Among the other candidates, lawyer and independent candidate Miques João Bonfim encouraged people to go to the polls despite social discontent, while deputy Nito d’Abreu, from the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party, called for combating abstention and advocated that “whoever loses accepts and whoever wins respects the defeated.”

Nova’s main rival at the polls is Nito d’Abreu, deputy and parliamentary leader of the center-right party Independent Democratic Action (ADI), while the other two candidates, Eugénio Tiny and Miques João, lack party support and had little movement during their campaigns.

Meanwhile, Jorge Bom Jesus appears on the ballot, but announced his withdrawal after the legal deadline, so any vote for him will be void.

The final stretch of the campaign was marred by digital anomalies, as President Nova’s official Facebook page suffered a computer “hijacking” in which unauthorized messages were published, a situation that persisted throughout Saturday, when online publications illegally soliciting votes and the dissemination of fake polls were detected.

Given these violations of regulations, the CEN admitted that its small structure of only nine members prevented effective digital supervision, as it had to concentrate all its human resources on electoral logistics.

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