Chamber:
	Assembleia Nacional
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	8 November 1998
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The 1998 National Assembly elections were originally scheduled for late September/early October as impressive progress on voter registration was made. On 1 September, however, President of the Republic Miguel Trovoada isued a decree setting the polling date at 8 November. Nine political parties competed for the 55 seats at stake. These included the three represented in the outgoing legislature: the Sao Tome and Principe Liberation Movement - Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD), the Democratic Convergence Party (PCD) and the Independent Democratic Action (ADI). Since the previous elections in 1994, the first two groups had governed in a coalition, led as from November 1996 by Prime Minister Raul Bragança Neto. The ADI, for its part, supported the policies of President Trovoada. The election campaign lasted from 22 October to 6 November. Issues debated centered on the exploitation of offshore oil reserves and the country’s entry into the franc monetary zone. Mr. Bragança (MLSTP) stated that his party had improved economic conditions and brought political stability to Sao Tome and Principe, which had seen a succession of governments in the 1990s. Led by Mrs. Alda Bandeira, the PCD called for continued coalition rule to ensure such stability. Polling day was monitored by international observers. Final results gave an absolute majority (31 seats) to the left-leaning MLSTP-PSD, which had fallen short of this edge by only one seat in 1994. In this context, the ADI alleged irregularities in the voting procedure. The victors promptly announced that their priority would be to reorganize the economy and thus alleviate the widespread poverty plaguing the nation. On 30 December, President Trovoada appointed former Foreign Minister Guilherme Posser da Costa (MLSTP) as Prime Minister; he and the new Cabinet were sworn in on 5 January 1999.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (8 November 1998): Elections results
Number of registered electors	49,639
Voters	32,108 (64.68%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	2,923
Valid votes	29,185

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
Sao Tome and Principe Liberation Movement - Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD)	14,771	46.1
Independent Democratic Action (ADI)	8,227	25.6
Democratic Convergence Party (PCD)	4,667	14.5

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Sao Tome and Principe Liberation Movement - Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD)	31	+4
Independent Democratic Action (ADI)	16	+2
Democratic Convergence Party (PCD)	8	-6

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	50
Women:	5

Distribution of seats according to age:
18-30 years	1
31-50 years	41
Over 50 years	13
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Engineers	11
Civil servants	10
Teachers	10
Private sector employees	9
Jurists	7
Doctors	5
Economists	2
Bank employees	1