The president is directly elected for up to two consecutive five-year terms. Executive elections are typically considered free and fair.

Carlos Vila Nova of ADI was elected president in 2021, winning 57.5 percent of the vote in a delayed second round. The election was marred by irregularities, including allegations of first-round vote-counting errors. The Constitutional Court issued multiple rulings in response to third-place candidate Delfim Neves’s request for a recount before ultimately denying it. The second round was not affected by fraud allegations, and both domestic and international observers ultimately assessed the elections as largely free and fair.

The prime minister, who holds most day-to-day executive authority, is appointed by the president based on the results of legislative elections. Patrice Trovoada of ADI became prime minister in November 2022, after the party won a majority in that September’s elections.

Members of the unicameral, 55-seat National Assembly are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The ADI, then in opposition, won 30 seats in the September 2022 elections, displacing the incumbent Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe–Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD), which won 18. A coalition of the Movement of Independent Citizens–Socialist Party (MCI-PS) and the Party of National Unity (PUN) won 5, while the Basta Movement won 2. Turnout stood at 65.4 percent.

The elections were marred by allegations of irregularities, including vote buying. Demonstrators blocked access to polling stations near a hospital in São Tomé to protest a lack of drinking water. The National Electoral Commission (CEN) took over a day to report provisional results and delegated the reporting of final results to the Constitutional Court; ADI supporters protested at CEN headquarters in response to the delay, burning tires. European Union (EU) observers called the polls themselves “peaceful and orderly” but criticized the absence of campaign spending limits and “difficult enforcement of the ban on foreign funding.”

Local and regional elections, including for Príncipe’s regional assembly, were held concurrently with the parliamentary elections. ADI won most local council seats under a new majoritarian system. Príncipe’s ruling party, the Union for Change and Progress of Príncipe, topped the regional polls on that island.

The electoral laws and framework are generally fair, but their implementation suffers from a lack of resources and staff. In May 2022, the Constitutional Court presented a new map for parliamentary districts ahead of the September elections, including two seats for members of the diaspora.

The CEN is not a permanent body. In April 2022, ADI criticized the tardy seating of CEN members. EU observers reported that electoral-roll updates were not conducted ahead of the elections because of that delay, leading to significant disenfranchisement. In their January 2023 final report, the observers also highlighted “some politicized interpretations of the legal-electoral framework,” a lack of opportunities for civil society involvement, inadequate capacity for information sharing on the part of state institutions, and a shortfall in women’s political participation at the leadership level.

The multiparty system features free and vigorous competition among political parties, though they are prone to fractures and other forms of instability. After the September 2022 elections, the Constitutional Court declared four parties that did not receive at least 0.5 percent of votes to be “extinct” under the electoral law.

The MLSTP-PSD ruled São Tomé and Príncipe as a one-party state from independence in 1975 until 1991. Multiple democratic transfers of power have occurred since then, and opposition parties are typically well-represented in the legislature.

Voters and politicians are generally free from undue interference with their decisions, though the practice of vote buying by political parties and candidates remains a problem. Military coups occurred in 1995 and 2003, but civilian rule was swiftly restored in both cases.

Women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups formally enjoy full political rights. While women have made advances in the political sphere, societal discrimination and disparities in access to education inhibit their participation. In September 2022, the president signed a gender parity law establishing that women should hold 40 percent of decision-making posts at the national and regional levels; it took effect after that month’s elections.

Under the preexisting Political Party Law, some 30 percent of elected positions should be held by women, but only 14.5 percent of the parliament’s seats were won by women in September 2022. Four women were included in the 11-member cabinet announced that November; the president of the parliament is a woman, as is one of the four new members of the Constitutional Court who took office in June 2023. The new government established a Ministry of Women’s Rights after taking power in late 2022.

The prime minister and cabinet determine government policy under the supervision of the National Assembly and the president. They implement laws and decisions without improper interference from unelected entities.

Individual governments have historically tended to be short-lived, as the proportional-representation voting system encourages fragile coalitions of multiple parties. However, the 2014–18 and 2018–22 governments completed full terms.

Corruption is a major problem. Oversight mechanisms, the opposition, and the media have repeatedly uncovered evidence of official malfeasance, sometimes resulting in dismissals and other repercussions. However, anticorruption laws are poorly enforced.

Media reports during 2023 raised concerns about an alleged illegal sale of public lands to foreign investors by a company connected to Delfim Neves, the president of the parliament until November 2022. Neves was also suspected of involvement in that month’s coup attempt, which Prime Minister Trovoada later claimed was related to the land sale, but prosecutors reported in February 2023 that they had found no evidence to that effect.

The government generally does not restrict access to information about its operations. However, there is no specific law guaranteeing public access to government information. Officials rarely disclose their assets and income.

Freedom of the press is constitutionally guaranteed and largely respected in practice. Public media convey opposition views and grant some access to opposition leaders, but only a handful of private outlets are available, and a degree of self-censorship has been reported at both public and private outlets. The public television, radio, and newswire outlets are overseen by the prime minister’s office. There are no restrictions on online media.

The constitution provides for freedom of religion. Religious groups are required to register with the Justice Ministry and can face penalties for failing to do so, but the process is not reported to be biased or restrictive.

The constitution prohibits political indoctrination in education, and academic freedom is generally respected in practice. However, the quality of education is considered poor. Inequality in access to education and poor infrastructure are persistent problems.

There are no restrictions on freedom of expression, which is constitutionally guaranteed. The government is not known to engage in improper surveillance of personal communications or monitoring of online content. Residents regularly use social media to express personal and political opinions.

The constitution protects freedom of assembly, which the government generally observes in practice. However, organizers are obliged to give authorities two days’ notice before public gatherings.

In August 2023, the government suspended freedom of assembly for 15 days while it hosted a summit of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). Opposition parties complained to the courts about the ban on protests, which prevented a demonstration in support of a man in pretrial detention for alleged involvement in the 2022 coup attempt.

Nongovernmental organizations, including those focusing on human rights and governance issues, are free to operate. A lack of funding limits their activities.

Workers can legally organize, strike, and bargain collectively. These rights are mostly respected, though there are no provisions to regulate bargaining or punish antiunion practices by employers. Most union negotiations are conducted with the government, the country’s dominant formal-sector employer.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary. Courts are relatively autonomous in practice, but they are susceptible to political influence and corruption.

In 2020, the government launched a three-year program to modernize the justice system and bolster judicial and prosecutorial independence. The program was ongoing in 2023, and featured the passage of several laws on judicial management, procedures, and interpretation.

In July 2023, a month after the appointment of four new members to the Constitutional Court, the tribunal moved unanimously to resolve a long-running and politicized dispute over the Rosema brewery by transferring ownership of the business from the Angolan-owned company Ridux to Solivan, a firm owned by members of the parliamentary coalition MCI-PS/PUN. The decision prompted accusations by a São Toméan lawyer that the new judges’ appointments, and a recent judicial reform law, were part of an organized scheme to secure control of the brewery.

Law enforcement authorities generally observe legal safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention as well as guarantees for a fair trial, but police corruption is a problem, and indigent defendants are at times denied access to a lawyer. About a fifth of prisoners are in pretrial detention, which can be lengthy in some cases.

Police are sometimes accused of physically attacking suspects during arrest. Prisons are known to suffer from overcrowding and other harsh conditions. In an effort to combat rising crime, the government has implemented measures including the mandatory confirmation and regulation of gun ownership.

The attempted coup d’état of November 2022, in which the government said it had repelled an attack on military barracks by a small group of gunmen, was followed by the apparent torture and death in custody of some of the alleged assailants. The only surviving suspect, Bruno Afonso, known as Lucas, was sentenced in December 2023 to 15 years in prison. Seven military personnel were also in detention, accused of participation in torture, but their expected court-martial had yet to begin at year’s end. All eight detainees had been in preventive detention for a period of time that was beyond the legal limit. The government was criticized during the year for promoting—even as they awaited trial—high-ranking officers who had been implicated in the case.

In August 2023, the opposition reported that foreign security forces, from Chad and Rwanda, were in the country to assist local counterparts during the CPLP summit.

Equal treatment is legally guaranteed, but a degree of societal discrimination against women persists, hampering their access to economic and educational opportunities. A 2023 study found that 40 percent of women do not participate in the labor market. Although same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized, discrimination against LGBT+ people is sometimes reported, and the law does not specifically address such bias.

The constitution establishes the freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation. The government generally respects these rights.

The legal framework and government policies are generally supportive of property rights and private business activity, though bureaucratic obstacles and corruption pose challenges in practice. In September 2023, the government announced plans to seize private uncultivated land and redistribute it for cultivation, noting that any foreign investors seeking access to land would have to partner with local citizens.

There are few formal restrictions on personal social freedoms. However, domestic violence is reportedly common and rarely prosecuted, and femicide and sexual violence remain concerns. In 2023, the government was working with the United Nations to develop a multiyear strategy for combating gender-based violence.

The minimum age for marriage with parental consent is 14 for girls and 16 for boys, as opposed to 18 without parental consent for both. Roughly a third of girls marry before age 18. Child sexual abuse is prevalent, and the number of cases reported has increased in recent years, raising international concern.

Forced labor is prohibited, and child labor is restricted by law. There are also basic legal protections against exploitative or dangerous working conditions. However, the government lacks the capacity to enforce these rules effectively, particularly in the informal agricultural sector. The economy is heavily reliant on foreign aid.