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Opposition Candidate Claims Victory in Sao Tome Presidential Elections
Fradique de Menezes, Sao Tome presidential candidate backed by the biggest opposition, has claimed his outright first-round victory in the island country's presidential elections, although the official provisional results have not yet been announced.
The claim was based on Menezes' own campaign count, said a report issued by the Portuguese TV station RTP Africa.
According to earlier reports, President of the National Electoral Commission Fernando Maquengo has said that "everything points to a second-round ballot" on August 19 between Menezes, 59, and former president Manuel Pinto da Costa, 63, backed by the ruling Liberation Movement for Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party.
Menezes, backed by the opposition Independent Democratic Action, said that he had gained an outright, first-round majority, beating Pinto da Costa by "about 5,000 ballots".
Since the 220 voting stations closed Sunday evening and manual ballot counting began, Pinto da Costa has not yet made any public comment on the elections.
Meanwhile, some other reports said that Menezes, who has half Portuguese blood, has gained an edge over Pinto da Costa in the first round, but which can only drag the elections into the second round.
It was reported that the final results of the first round of elections could be announced in eight days after the voting.
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