The Constitutional Court on June 16 approved five of the six presidential candidates seeking to contest the election.

The approved candidates are incumbent President Carlos Vila Nova, who is seeking a second term; former Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus; parliamentary leader of the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party Nito D'Abreu; and jurists Miques João Bonfim and Eugénio Tiny.

The race is widely expected to be dominated by three contenders.

The Constitutional Court rejected the candidacy of businessman and lawmaker Nino Monteiro, who also leads the MCI-PS/PUN coalition, citing eligibility criteria linked to his family background, as media reported.

His party condemned the decision, arguing it violates constitutional protections.

The coalition said the ruling is contrary to Article 15 of the Constitution, discriminatory and politically motivated, and announced it would appeal to the Constitutional Court in defence of São Toméans born in the archipelago.

According to provisional figures released by the National Electoral Commission (CEN), 142,298 voters have registered for the election, an increase of nearly 19,000 compared with the 2022 polls.

The voter roll includes 121,771 registered voters inside the country and 20,525 living abroad.

The island nation spent its first 15 years after independence under a Marxist one-party system led by the MLSTP, which had opposed Portuguese colonial rule.

A constitutional referendum in 1990, backed by more than 95 percent of voters, introduced multiparty democracy and imposed a two-term limit on the presidency, paving the way for democratic elections.

Since then, civilian authorities have survived attempted military coups in 2003 and 2009, maintaining constitutional rule.