São Tomé and Príncipe government dismissed by president

The president of São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, has fired his country’s government and its prime minister.

In a statement issued on Monday, Nova accused Prime Minister Patrice Emery Trovoada of “prolonged absences” and said the government had failed to provide solutions to major economic and financial challenges, as well as their “social repercussions”.

It is not yet clear what specifically precipitated his decision to summarily dismiss the current administration, but he has given his party — to which Trovoada also belongs — 72 hours to form a new government.

The island nation is generally regarded as a stable democracy in a region often marked by violent transfers of power, military juntas and long-term dictatorships.

However, São Tomé and Príncipe faced a failed coup attempt in November 2022, which saw four assailants killed by security forces in the midst of an assault on the country’s military barracks that Trovoada described as “an attack with weapons of war on the country’s armed forces”.

Several people were detained, among them former presidential candidate Delfim Neves, who had insisted that an election earlier that year had been rigged against him.

According to international NGO Freedom House, Trovoada’s government has since installed many of its allies in public positions. It has also been accused of promoting and protecting military officers who participated in the abuse of people captured during the coup attempt.

While São Tomé and Príncipe is generally credited with maintaining strong political institutions, corruption and bad governance — particularly when it comes to public services and the uses of foreign aid and investment — have fuelled popular discontent and protests.