Archipelago gears up for legislative elections

Voters in Sao Tome and Principe go to the polls on Sunday to elect a 55-member parliament. The run-up to the election has been clouded by allegations that some political parties "distributed money to voters", but these claims are unlikely to affect the polls, a humanitarian source told IRIN on Friday. "Arrangements are going on and the election is likely to go ahead as planned," the source said, adding that campaigning had been "hectic". Sao Tome and Principe is an Atlantic Ocean archipelago with about 150,000 inhabitants just off the coast of Gabon. Its president, Fradique de Menezes, was sworn into office on 3 September 2001. He called early elections after failing to agree with his then prime minister, Gilherme Posser da Costa, on the composition of a new cabinet. Posser da Costa is from the Sao Tome and Principe Liberation Movement (MLSTP) party, which had formed the government after winning the most seats in parliamentary elections in 1998. De Menezes came from the opposition. When the president bypassed parliament and formed a government of "presidential initiative" on 26 September, the MLSTP walked out of the legislature. On Thursday, an MLSTP leader claimed that other political forces were spending "scandalous" amounts of foreign funds in campaigning for the legislative elections. Posser da Costa was quoted by the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, as saying he feared the MLSTP's traditional supporters could switch their votes "for a simple financial compensation". However, Lusa quoted opposition leader Patrice Trovoada as saying that money had been distributed to voters "but not to buy votes". The MLSTP has claimed that its opponents are being quietly funded by Taiwan and Nigeria which, it charges, hope to benefit from future offshore oil exploration. The other parties deny the accusation, claiming in turn that the MLSTP has received money from Angola.