Sao Tome and Principe president has boycotted his own run-off election, handing victory to his rival. Pinto da Costa ruled Sao Tome with an iron fist for the first 15 years after independence from Portugal in 1975. Sao Tome and Principe, a former Portuguese colony, consists of two islands of volcanic origin and a number of smaller islets lying off the western coast of Africa. He had won the first round with 49.8% of the vote while Mr Pinto da Costa had taken 24.8%. Ahead of Sunday's run-off, he had called on his supporters not to vote, and later reports said many of them had stayed away.

Source: The Star August 08, 2016 04:33 UTC