| Government |  |
| One characteristic of this young nation is the large number of female ministers in the government. | |
|
Government type: Democratic Republic Legal system: Based on Portuguese legal system and customary laws. Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal Executive branch: Chief of state: Fradique Melo de Menezes (since September 2001) Head of government: Prime minister Rafael Branco (since June 2008) Elections: Held in July 2006 (legislatives) |
 |
| Political parties: Christian Democratic Front (FDC),
Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO),
Independent Democratic Action (ADI), Movement for liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD), Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD) and other small parties. Official websites for the Government can be found here and for the Parlament here (Note: The websites are in Portugues) |
||