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Parliamentary Elections in São Tomé and Príncipe
On Sunday, the opposition party Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe – Partido Social Democrata (MLSTP-PSD, also MLSTP) won the parliamentary, municipal and regional elections by a very narrow margin. According to the chairman of the National Electoral Commission (CEN), Jeudiger do Nascimento, the MLSTP received 18,622 votes, securing 24 of the 55 seats — four seats short of the threshold of 28 needed for an absolute majority. The previously governing Acção Democrática Independente (ADI) lost its absolute majority, winning 23 seats. Of the remaining seats, six went to the coalition Movimento de Cidadãos Independentes-Partido Socialista/Partido de Unidade Nacional (MCI-PS/PUN) and two to Movimento Basta. Of 146,929 registered voters, only 49,720 cast a valid vote. The resulting turnout of around 37.1% is a record low for the country.
An initial partial count had been published on Monday, which did not yet include votes from abroad. This had the MLSTP ahead of the ADI by just 367 votes. With the counting of the diaspora votes on Tuesday, the gap between the two parties widened to 561 votes, resulting in the final seat distribution of 24 to 23 in favour of the MLSTP. The electoral commission had initially not intended to announce any seat distribution at all, since this is technically the responsibility of the Constitutional Court, but ultimately published the figures, citing concerns about social tensions.
Protests had broken out at the official opening of the election campaign on 12 September, after a number of MCI-PS/PUN candidacies were disqualified; this led to road blockades and arrests. The Constitutional Court had ordered the disqualification in five electoral districts over allegations of forged signatures. As a result, the party was only able to stand in three electoral districts, but achieved a sufficiently strong concentration of votes there to still win six seats — its best result in a parliamentary election to date. International election observation missions drew mixed conclusions: the EU mission assessed election day as orderly and peaceful, but criticised limited transparency in campaign financing as well as cross-party concerns about the politicisation of the judiciary. Both the EU mission and the observer mission of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) highlighted positively that the elections marked the first application of the 2022 Parity Law, and that the representation of women among candidates had increased.
Incumbent President Carlos Vila Nova had already secured a second term in the first round of the presidential election on 19 July 2026 (Press Review CW 40/2026) . The former ADI politician ran this time as an independent and was backed by an opposition alliance centred on the MLSTP. Under the constitution, the president appoints the prime minister after the parliamentary election, taking the election result into account. Vila Nova stated that the new government would be guided by the corresponding parliamentary support.
The socialist MCI-PS/PUN could now prove decisive in this regard, as its number of seats could help either the social-democratic MLSTP or the conservative ADI secure a parliamentary majority. Party leader Domingos Monteiro signalled a willingness to talk with both major parties, saying he would base his decision on which party committed to concrete measures to improve the population’s living conditions. Both MLSTP chairman Américo Barros and outgoing prime minister and ADI leader Américo Ramos had already expressed openness to a coalition before the election. The MLSTP is the strongest force in parliament for the first time since 2002 and could once again provide the prime minister after more than two decades. However, the Constitutional Court has not yet certified the final result. It also remains to be seen whether the ADI will challenge the exceptionally narrow outcome.
Five Opposition Parties in Liberia Form Joint Technical Committee
On Sunday, five Liberian opposition parties signed a joint communiqué. They are calling on the government of President Joseph Boakai for greater accountability and intend to develop shared positions on governance, corruption and the rule of law. The second meeting of the opposition forum in Monrovia brought together former president and political leader of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), George Manneh Weah, Alexander B. Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), as well as leaders of the Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE), the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), and the Union of Liberian Democrats Party (ULDP). They established the Opposition Political Parties Joint Technical Committee (OPPJTC), to which each party is to send two members. The committee is tasked with drawing up a roadmap for further cooperation, setting up thematic working groups, and organising exchange with opposition lawmakers, civil society organisations, professional associations and the public across all 15 counties.
The joint communiqué sets out twelve points of criticism. Among other things, the opposition accuses the government of undermining the rule of law and the judiciary, of disregarding a ruling in the power struggle over the speakership of the House of Representatives, and of mishandling the border conflict with Guinea. The government, it claims, lost control of a border section near Sorlumba claimed by Liberia to Guinea and failed to resolve the conflict diplomatically; Guinean soldiers had previously repeatedly taken up positions there. The communiqué’s criticisms also include the expulsion of EU ambassador Nona Deprez in March 2026, after she criticised a lack of transparency in the mining sector, as well as a call for greater transparency regarding an agreement with the US providing for the transfer of up to 1,200 unwanted third-country nationals to Liberia, about which the public, they say, had not been adequately informed. The opposition alliance also criticises alleged corruption surrounding a ten-million-US-dollar construction project in Foya, Boakai’s hometown, claiming the project violated procurement and budget rules and that its funding sources were never credibly explained. On the issue of drug trafficking, the parties are calling for an independent commission to investigate state seizures.
Meanwhile, another opposition party, the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), withdrew from the ongoing alliance process last Thursday. The party rejected the draft communiqué, stating that political cooperation without an agreed programme for national reform did not align with its goals. The governing Unity Party (UP), for its part, downplayed the significance of the opposition forum. Secretary-General Amos B. Tweh said his party did not view it as a serious threat to President Joseph Boakai or his bid for re-election.
This is not the first time opposition parties have joined forces, though the now-united CDC and ANC were most recently on opposing sides. As early as 2019, five opposition parties, including the ANC and UP, formed the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) to combine their strength against President George Weah and his CDC. The alliance ran jointly in the 2020 senate elections but broke apart over leadership disputes in 2022. In the 2023 presidential election, the former alliance partners ultimately ran separately again, and Boakai was elected president on the UP ticket.
According to the signatories, the current alliance is deliberately not intended as a joint electoral coalition for the 2029 elections, though it could develop into one. They say they want to avoid repeating the mistakes of previous opposition alliances and not simply join forces for the sake of votes, but rather determine over time whether they are aligned on substance. The next consultations at leadership level are to take place in about two weeks. All parties that have not yet taken part in the process will be given the opportunity to join. The opposition parties also called on all Liberians to take part in the national discourse.
Special news: Morocco’s king appoints first woman prime minister
On Tuesday, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri was appointed Head of Government of Morocco by King Mohammed VI and tasked with forming a government. El Mansouri, who previously served as Minister for Housing and was also the first woman to hold the office of Mayor of Marrakesh, is the first woman to lead the Moroccan government. At the same time, she is only the second woman after the former Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane to take on the role of head of government in a North African country. Her party, the Parti Authenticité et Modernité (PAM), emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary elections on 23 September, winning 97 seats (Press Review CW 39/2026). Within the PAM, El Mansouri prevailed over her party colleague Fouzi Lekjaa, who had initially been considered the favourite for the post following the election victory.
In other news
On Sunday the three-day Africa Space Expo (ASPEX) concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Held for the first time this year, the expo was implemented as a joint initiative of the African Union (AU) and the Ivorian government, carried out by the African Space Agency (AfSA) and the Agence Spatiale de Côte d’Ivoire (ASCI), the Ivorian space agency established in 2025. It brought together governments, space agencies, industry representatives and investors from over 50 countries, providing a platform for dialogue on Africa’s space economy. ASPEX’s aim is to harness space technologies and satellite-based applications as a driver of Africa’s sustainable socio-economic development, particularly in areas such as agriculture, climate protection, telecommunications and connectivity, navigation, disaster management, spatial planning and security, while also advancing the development of the continent’s own technologies and capacities. Against this backdrop, several concrete agreements were reached at the event. Côte d’Ivoire signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the ninth African nation and the 75th country overall to join the US-led framework for civil space exploration. Angola and the United Arab Emirates also agreed on a memorandum of understanding on space cooperation. In addition, AfSA signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates on cooperation in peaceful space activities.