Sao Tome and Principe: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe etymology: 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 |
|---|---|
| Government type | semi-presidential republic |
| Capital | Sao Tome
Sao Tome
geographic coordinates: 0 20 N, 6 44 E time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome |
| Independence | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) |
| Constitution | approved 5 November 1975; revised several times, last in 2006 (2016) |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of civil law base on the Portuguese model and customary law |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Sao Tome and Principe dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Evaristo CARVALHO (since 3 September 2016) head of government: Prime Minister Patrice Emery TROVOADA (since 29 November 2014) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 July 2016 and second round held on 7 August 2016 (next to be held in July 2021); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: 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%; note - first round results for CARVALHO were revised downward from just over 50%, prompting the 7 August runoff; however, on 1 August DA COSTA withdrew from the runoff, citing voting irregularities |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 12 October 2014 (next expected in October 2018) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADI 33, MLSTP-PSD 16, PCD-GR 5, other 1 |
| 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 are 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 |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Movement of Forces for Change or MDFM (Fradigue Bandeira Melo DE MENEZES) Independent Democratic Action or ADI (Patrice TROVOADA) Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD (Aurelio MARTINS) Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD (Leonel Mario D'ALVA) other small parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Association of Sao Tome and Principe NGOs or FONGother: the media |
| 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) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Filomeno Azevedo Agostinho das NEVES (since 3 December 2013) chancery: 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807, New York, NY 10017 telephone: (1) (212) 651-8116 FAX: (1) (212) 651-8117 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the US Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; green stands for the country's rich vegetation, red recalls the struggle for independence, and yellow represents cocoa, one of the country's main agricultural products; the two stars symbolize the two main islands note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| National symbol(s) | palm tree; national colors: green, yellow, red, black |
| National anthem | name: "Independencia total" (Total Independence) lyrics/music: Alda Neves DA GRACA do Espirito Santo/Manuel dos Santos Barreto de Sousa e ALMEIDA note: adopted 1975 |