2016 São Toméan presidential election

São Tomé and Príncipe presidential election, 2016

17 July 2016
Registered	111,222
Turnout	64.31%
Nominee Evaristo Carvalho Manuel Pinto da Costa Party ADI Independent
Incumbent President Manuel Pinto da Costa Independent

Presidential elections were held in São Tomé and Príncipe on 17 July 2016. Initial results suggested Evaristo Carvalho of Independent Democratic Action had been elected in the first round of voting, defeating incumbent President Manuel Pinto da Costa; however, the results was subsequently annulled, necessitating a second round between Carvalho and da Costa.

Electoral system

The President of São Tomé and Príncipe is elected using the two-round system. If no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off between the top two candidates was to be held on 7 August.

Candidates

There were five candidates, including the incumbent president Manuel Pinto da Costa, two former Prime Ministers, Evaristo Carvalho from Independent Democratic Action and Maria das Neves from the MLSTP/PSD, as well as two independents.

Results

Candidate	Party	First round		Second round
		Votes	%	Votes	%
Evaristo do Espírito Santo Carvalho	Independent Democratic Action	34,522	49.88
Manuel Pinto da Costa	Independent	17,188	24.84
Maria das Neves Ceita Baptista de Sousa	MLSTP/PSD	16,828	24.31
Manuel do Rosário	Independent	478	0.69
Hélder Barros	Independent	194	0.28
Invalid/blank votes		2,314	–		–
Total		71,524	100
Registered voters/turnout		111,222	64.31
Sources: Téla Nón