DILI, 14 July 2026 (TATOLI) — In response to the invitation by the National Electoral Commission (CEN) of São Tomé and Príncipe, the g7+ on Monday deployed an election observation mission to observe the country’s presidential elections scheduled on 19 July 2026.
The mission will be led by Floyd Oxley Sayor, a commissioner of Liberia’s National Elections Commission, who will travel directly from Liberia to São Tomé and Príncipe. He will be joined by g7+ Chief Operating Officer Felix Piedade and Elvino Fernandes Moniz, Director-General of Timor-Leste’s Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, who departed Dili on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Elísio Monteiro Valadares, the g7+ Secretariat’s Protocol and Partnerships Officer, will join the delegation in Portugal before traveling with the team to São Tomé and Príncipe.
According to the mission programme, the observers will begin their work with a briefing from CEN President Jeudiger Nascimento on preparations for the election, including the legal framework, voter education, dispute-resolution mechanisms and other technical aspects of the electoral process.
The delegation will also hold courtesy meetings with civil society organizations, security institutions, religious leaders, non-governmental organizations, and the ministers of finance and foreign affairs.
The mission is scheduled to conclude on July 24, with the delegation returning to their respective countries after completing its observation, assessment and reporting activities.
In addition to the g7+, the presidential election will also be observed by missions from the African Union, the European Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
Six candidates are running for president, including incumbent Carlos Vila Nova, former Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus, businessman Domingos Monteiro, ADI parliamentary leader Nito D’Abreu, and lawyers Miques João Bonfim and Eugénio Tiny.
According to the National Electoral Commission (CEN), 142,191 registered voters are eligible to cast ballots in the presidential election, including 121,670 residing in São Tomé and Príncipe and 20,521 living abroad. Voting will be conducted at 359 polling stations, with 287 located in the country, 47 across Europe and 25 in African countries.
São Tomé and Príncipe, a g7+ member and island nation off the west coast of Central Africa, gained independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975. The country has a semi-presidential system, with the president is directly elected by the public.
Founded in Dili in 2010, the g7+ is an intergovernmental organization of 20 conflict-affected and fragile states working to promote peace, stability and stronger state institutions.
The organization focuses on three strategic priorities: international advocacy for peacebuilding and state-building; “fragility-to-fragility” cooperation through the exchange of experiences among member states; and institutional strengthening.
Its Secretariat-General is headquartered in Dili, with additional offices in Lisbon, opened in 2017, and New York, inaugurated in September 2024.
Journalist: Afonso do Rosário
Editor: Isaura Lemos de Deus
Translation: Filomeno Martins
