The president of the republic is elected to a 5-year term by direct universal suffrage and a secret ballot, and may hold office up to two consecutive terms. Candidates are chosen at their party's national conference or individuals may run independently. A presidential candidate must obtain an outright majority of the popular vote in either a first or second round of voting in order to be elected president. The prime minister is named by the president but must be ratified by the majority party and thus normally comes from a list of its choosing. The prime minister, in turn, names the 14 members of the Cabinet.

Justice is administered at the highest level by the Supreme Court. Formerly responsible to the National Assembly, the judiciary is now independent under the current constitution.

Administratively, the country is divided into seven municipal districts, six on Sao Tome and one comprising Principe. Governing councils in each district maintain a limited number of autonomous decision-making powers, and are reelected every 5 years.

The Sao Tome and Principe Mission to the United Nations, which also is the Sao Tomean Embassy to the United States, is located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th floor, New York, NY 10022 (tel. 212-317-0580; email stp@un.int ).