At the invitation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Mr Mahamoud Ali YOUSSOUF, deployed an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), upon the recommendation of the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), H.E. Ambassador Bankole ADEOYE, to assess and report on the conduct of the presidential election scheduled for 19 July 2026, in line with the democratic principles and commitments of the African Union.

The Mission is led by H.E. Filipe Jacinto NYUSI, former President of the Republic of Mozambique. It comprises 29 Short-Term Observers (STOs) drawn from 17 AU member states, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. The Mission brings together ambassadors accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa, representatives of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) from AU Member States, independent electoral experts, and representatives of African civil society and youth organisations.

The Mission is conducted in accordance with the national legal framework governing the elections in São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as the relevant continental and international legal and normative instruments, including the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), Agenda 2063 of the African Union, the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), among other relevant instruments.

During its deployment, the Mission will engage with presidential candidates and political parties contesting the election, government authorities, Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), national civil society organisations (CSOs), representatives of the media, other International Election Observation Missions (IEOMs), as well as development partners present in the country.

The Mission will issue its Preliminary Statement On 21 July 2026, outlining its preliminary findings and recommendations at the Pestana Hotel in São Tomé. A comprehensive final election observation report will be published within one month of the date of the announcement of the final results of the election.

The Mission’s Secretariat is based at the Pestana Hotel in São Tomé.

For more information about the mission and its activities, please contact this number ?+239 9813299.

ISSUED in São Tomé, on 15 July 2026

For the Mission

HE Filipe Jacinto NYUSI

Head of Mission

For more information, please contact:

Karine Kakasi Siaba, Head of the Democracy and Elections Unit | Governance and Conflict Prevention Directorate | Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security | African Union Commission | Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail: KakasiK@africanunion.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Directorate of Information and Communication  | African Union Commission | E-mail: DIC@africanunion.org | Web: au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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