2001 São Toméan presidential election

Presidential elections were held in São Tomé and Príncipe on 29 July 2001. They were the nation's third presidential elections 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 elections, deemed free and fair by international observers, were 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

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Fradique de Menezes	Independent Democratic Action	25,896	55.18
	Manuel Pinto da Costa	MLSTP/PSD	18,762	39.98
	Carlos Tiny	Independent	1,532	3.26
	Victor Monteiro	Independent	410	0.87
	Francisco Fortunato Pires	Independent	332	0.71
Total			46,932	100.00
Valid votes			46,932	98.52
Invalid/blank votes			703	1.48
Total votes			47,635	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			67,374	70.70
Source: African Election Database