São Tomé and Príncipe

The president (head of state) is directly elected for a 5-year term in a two-round system and may be re-elected once, so the same person can be president for a maximum of 2 terms in total, i.e. 10 years (the two terms do not have to be consecutive). The first round is held via a single-choice vote and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the second round if no one receives a majority (more than half of the valid votes, 50%+) in the first round.

The 55-member unicameral legislature (National Assembly) is directly elected every 4 years in a closed-list regional proportional representation system.

Representatives are elected in 7 multi-member districts (districts of 5-14 seats each), plus two single-seat district for citizens from abroad (Africa and Europe). The D'Hondt method is used for the distribution of seats, which favors the larger parties.

This is the description of the electoral system of São Tomé and Príncipe as of 30.07.2026 on Electoral Knowledgebase. Sources and further information on this topic:

Feedback, criticism is welcome and appreciated.