The MLSTP/PSD, in power in São Tomé and Príncipe, rejected on Monday any “declaration of victory with an absolute majority” in Sunday’s legislative session, such as the one made by the ADI (opposition), and asked the population to wait serenely for the official results.
“Reject any type of demonstration or declaration of victory with an absolute majority, since we still do not have all the official data or any official data from the National Electoral Commission [CEN]”, declared Gabdulo Quaresma, vice president and campaign director of the Liberation Movement of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party (MLSTP/PSD), in a statement without questions at the party’s headquarters in Riboque, São Tomé.
The data collected by the party, he added, “points to a result of 22 to 24 deputies for the MLSTP, about six for the Caué movement. [Movimento de Cidadãos Independentes/Partido de Unidade Nacional] and about two to three for Basta”.
The National Assembly is made up of 55 deputies, with an absolute majority corresponding to 28 seats.
The former Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe Patrice Trovoada (Independent Democratic Action, opposition) claimed victory this Monday, with 30 deputies, in the legislative elections and announced that he will head the next government.
We claim victory in the legislative elections, with an absolute majority, totaling 30 mandates, 30 deputies, with 54.55% of the votes”, he said, speaking to dozens of supporters, at the party’s headquarters in the capital of São Take. .
Patrice Trovoada made the statement at a time when the São Tomé CEN has not yet released the preliminary results of this Sunday’s legislative, municipal and regional elections.
“As I promised, with an absolute majority, I will assume the functions and responsibilities of prime minister and head of the next government,” he said, receiving loud applause from the militants.
“Any type of declaration or manifestation of an absolute majority is very premature,” stressed Gabdulo Quaresma, for his part.
The head of the MLSTP asked the people of Santo Tomé to “serenely await the official results” of the CEN of Santo Tomé.
So far, the CEN has no forecast of when it will announce the official results of the legislative, municipal and regional elections in Príncipe.
“So that we have, as we have seen so far, a peaceful election with very reliable results. The elections in São Tomé and Príncipe have taken place in a festive atmosphere, it is a celebration of the people”, he said.
The leader of the MLSTP recalled that, in the past, the country “has already seen this type of declaration”, alluding to the first declaration of the ADI after the legislative elections of 2018, when the party announced that it had won without a simple majority and he admitted reaching an absolute majority with the support of the Caué movement.
This scenario was not confirmed, as the MLSTP/PSD formed a post-election coalition with the PCD/UDD/MDFM bloc (‘new majority’), reach the 28 seats necessary for an absolute majority, that would support the government of Jorge Bom Jesus.
The day after the 2018 legislative elections, a protest by supporters and leaders of the ‘new majority’ degenerated into scenes of violence, with demonstrators destroying the car of the judge who presided over the district assembly for the counting of votes and with the intervention of shock police
“These statements are not good for São Tomé society because they can generate a climate that can be unpleasant,” Quaresma warned.
Source: Observadora