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P 301534Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
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INFO RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1244
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RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0893
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0367
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0775
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RHMFISS/COMUSNAVEUR NAPLES IT
RUFGNOA/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
KINSHASA PASS BRAZZAVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2016 
TAGS: PGOV GB
SUBJECT: NO SURPRISE IN SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE LEGISLATIVE 
ELECTIONS-YET 
 
REF: LIBREVILLE 180 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER GLENN FEDZER FOR REASON 1.4 (B) 
 
¶1.  (U  Summary:  The MDFM ("Movement for the Democratic 
Force of Change" -- the party of President Fradique de 
Menezes) and the MLSTP ("Movement for the Liberation of Sao 
Tome and Principe" -- the party of the Prime Minister) split 
the vote in the March 26 Sao Tome and Principe (STP) 
legislative elections, with ADI ("Independent Democratic 
Alliance" -- the party of Patrice Trovoada) finishing third. 
The MDFM took 22 seats, the MLSTP 20, ADI 12 and Novo Rumo 
("New Direction") 1.  ADI's strong showing puts Patrice 
Trovoada in position to negotiate with the MDFM or MLSTP for 
the best deal to join a governing coalition in Sao Tome's 55 
seat assembly.  The campaign and election were peaceful, but 
26 voting places (out of a total of 232) were shut down by 
local activists or boycotted on voting day as a means of 
protesting local economic/infrastructure conditions. 
International observers noted some minor technical problems 
during the election and suspected incidents of vote buying, 
but considered the vote to be generally free and fair.  Those 
polling stations that had to close or were boycotted March 26 
are scheduled for a re-vote on Sunday, April 2 (as called for 
in Sao Tome's voting laws), but the results are not 
anticipated to affect significantly the outcome of the 
legislative elections.  There were 79,842 voters registered 
for the elections, out of a total population of approximately 
160,000.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Sao Tome and Principe -- considered by many to be 
one of the few genuine democracies in this part of Africa -- 
concluded two-weeks of campaigning for legislative elections 
with large rallies throughout Sao Tome on March 24.  The 
final day of campaigning was virtually a carnival, with 
singing and dancing widespread and noisy political party 
rallies taking place just a few blocks apart.  The events 
included a profusion of free hats, T-shirts, flags and paid 
entertainment.  The dirt-poor country seemed awash in 
campaign paraphernalia  As predicted by banker Acacio Bonfim 
(reftel), the exchange rate for the local currency 
temporarily strengthened due to inflow of hard currency 
allegedly to finance the election.  A twenty-year old dancer 
performing at one rally was undecided on which party she 
would vote for, but said her pay for the day (the equivalent 
of 40 dollars, the monthly minimum wage) might help her make 
a decision.  Gabonese President Bongo appeared to be one 
international contributor: on March 23, three days before the 
election and a week after President de Menezes made a private 
visit to Gabon, a planeload of campaign material for the MDFM 
arrived from Libreville on an airline owned by Bongo.  Many 
suspected that the delivery was a sign that Bongo was 
financially backing Menezes. 
 
¶3.  (U)  On election day, non-violent community protests, 
particularly in rural areas of MeZochi province, blocked 
voting at 26 polling stations. The Electoral Commission 
rescheduled the voting in those locations for April 2.  While 
the stations accounted for over 9500 registered voters, their 
votes are unlikely to shift the outcome by more than one or 
two seats. The protests were only marginally related to the 
election process; activists in most of the involved 
communities were demanding water, electricity, and better 
roads -- one village hung up a banner "no road, no votes" -- 
and blocked access to the polling stations with trees, old 
cars, and burning tires as a means of dramatizing their 
concerns.  The protesters were non-violent, non-threatening, 
and talked freely with electoral observers and security 
forces; the latter took no action to remove the barricades or 
arrest demonstrators.  One community (a village involved in 
labor difficulties with the Pestana Group, a Portuguese 
resort company) allowed the electoral workers to set up a 
polling station but then boycotted the election completely as 
a means of publicizing their grievances. 
 
¶4.  (U)  In a letter delivered to the president of the STP 
Electoral Commission, international observers, including a 
team from the US Embassy in Libreville, noted minor technical 
flaws, such as late openings, inconsistent procedures, or a 
lack of sufficient ink at some polling stations.  There was 
no evidence or accusations of voter intimidation or threats 
by the government or security forces, and in most locations 
the voting occurred peacefully, and the flaws observed were 
neither intentional nor influential on the results.  The 
observers concluded that "the elections were generally 
conducted in a manner that met international norms" and that 
STP voters were free to express their political  choices at 
the ballot box. 
 
¶5.  (C)  However, observers suspected, but could not 
definitively prove, that there was some vote buying on 
election day -- or at least the expectation on the part of 
some voters that they would be paid for their votes.  Voters 
milling around some polling stations told observers they were 
waiting for someone to give them money for a vote; some even 
approached observers with offers to sell their vote.  Many of 
these individuals, frustrated in their intent to get paid, 
finally gave up and swelled the waiting lines late in the 
day, ending up voting by candlelight. 
 
¶6.  (U)  As predicted (reftel), the MDFM, MLSTP and ADI split 
the vote, with President de Menezes' MDFM the biggest winner 
with twenty-two seats.  The MLSTP won twenty, ADI twelve, and 
Novo Rumo one seat.  Twenty-eight seats are needed for a 
majority in Sao Tome's fifty-five seat National Assembly. 
The strong showing by ADI allows it to hold out for the best 
deal in forming a coalition government in partnership with 
one of the larger parties. 
 
¶7. (U) We will provide further analysis once the votes of 
Sunday April 2 are in and the final election results tallied. 
WALKLEY