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Menezes Confirmed to Be Elected New President of Sao Tome
Electoral officials from Sao Tome and Principe confirmed Wednesday that businessman Fradique de Menezes, backed by the biggest opposition party, has been elected new president of the country, defeating the once most favorite former president Manuel Pinto da Costa.
According to a report issued by the Portuguese Lusa news agency, electoral officials have made a statement on the Sao Tome state- run television station, saying that Menezes has won the Sunday presidential elections with more than 56 percent of the votes.
It was reported that Fradique de Menezes got 21,149 votes, while Pinto da Costa gained 14,504, or 39 percent of the total ballots.
The remaining 5 percent of the votes went to three other candidates.
Menezes, a 59-year-old successful entrepreneur of the import- export sector, will be sworn in as president in early September, replacing President Miguel Trovoada, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive five-year term.
Menezes claimed outright victory late Sunday night and organized celebrations on Monday despite the silence of electoral officials, who waited several days to make their first announcement of preliminary results.
The son of a Portuguese father and Sao Tome mother, Menezes earned a clinical psychology degree in Belgium. He described himself as a pragmatic manager.
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