São Tomé and Príncipe presidential election, 2001

The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe held presidential elections on 29 July 2001. It was the nation's third presidential election since the introduction of multi-party politics in 1990. Incumbent Miguel Trovoada was constitutionally barred from participating in the election having served the maximum of two five year terms. The two top contenders for the position were Fradique de Menezes, a wealthy businessman, and Manuel Pinto da Costa, former President and founder of the former single-party, the MLSTP-PSD. The election, deemed free and fair by international observers, was won in the first round by Menezes. He was sworn in as the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe on 3 September 2001. Voter turnout was 70.7%.

Results

 Summary of the 29 July 2001 presidential election results

Candidates, parties	Votes	%
Fradique de Menezes, Independent Democratic Action	25,896	55.18
Manuel Pinto da Costa, Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe	18,762	39.98
Carlos Tiny	1,532	3.26
Victor Monteiro	410	0.87
Francisco Fortunato Pires	332	0.71
Total (Turnout 70.7%)	46,932	100.00
Registered voters	67,374
Total votes cast	47,635
Invalid votes	703

Note: The official results published by the Supreme Court were Menezes (54.36%), Trovoada (39.39%), Tiny (3.22%), Monteiro (0.86%), Pires (0.68%), Invalid/Blank Votes (1.49%). Percentage figures in the table above exclude the invalid/blank ballots.