The small African state of Sao Tome and Principe remains in political limbo after a refusal by the head of state Manuel Pinto da Costa to run in a second presidential election run-off round. The president qualified for the final round between the top two candidates, winning 24.83 percent of votes in the first mid-July round. The other finalist is Evaristo Carvalho, an ally of Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, who won 49.8 percent, according to definitive results published late Monday by the Constitutional Tribunal. But Pinto da Costa and the candidate in third place, Maria das Neves, have jointly alleged fraud in the July 17 vote in the twin Atlantic archipelagos off equatorial Africa’s coast.
“To continue taking part in such a distorted electoral process is to endorse it,” Pinto da Costa said. “I won’t do it as a candidate and even less so as the president of the republic.”
The Constitutional Tribunal is due to rule on their claim within the next few days.
Full Article: Sao Tome in political limbo over election row | GlobalPost.
