Constitutional Court Declares Carlos Vila Nova President-elect

The Constitutional Court of Sao Tome and Principe officially declared incumbent President Carlos Vila Nova as the president-elect on July 29. The certification follows the presidential election held on July 19, confirming that Vila Nova secured re-election in the first round.

Final certified results show Vila Nova received 31,613 votes, representing 55.88 percent of valid ballots. His primary challenger, Nito d'Abreu, received 23,457 votes, or 41.46 percent. A total of 56,574 valid votes were counted, accounting for approximately 40 percent of registered voters.

These final figures differ slightly from the provisional results released by the National Electoral Commission on July 20, which had initially attributed 55.94 percent of the vote to Vila Nova. Artur Vera Cruz, President of the Constitutional Court, announced the final tabulation to formalize the victory.