Sao Tome, Jan 10 Sao Tome and Principe's ruling Independent Democratic Action Party (ADI) proposed three new candidates for the position of Prime Minister, following President Carlos Vila Nova's rejection of the earlier nominee, Helio de Almeida.
According to updates on ADI's official Facebook page and national news agency STP-Press, all three nominees are women, namely President of the National Assembly Celmira Sacramento, Minister of Justice Ilza Amado Vaz, and Minister of Health Angela Costa.
Earlier in the day, Vila Nova rejected the nomination of Helio de Almeida as prime minister proposed by ADI, calling on ADI to come up with alternative candidates to replace Patrice Trovoada, who was dismissed earlier this week, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to STP-Press, the rejection was announced during a press conference where the president explained that Helio de Almeida's candidacy did not align with his "sensibility."
"After consultations and within the scope of my responsibilities, the candidate proposed by ADI, Helio de Almeida, does not meet my sensibility. Therefore, I request that ADI propose other names for the leadership of the next government in the coming hours, as the party has other qualified cadres," said Vila Nova. "The requirements are mainly those that align with a specific profile. Of course, I cannot go into details here because the party is well aware of them."
The Sao Tomean president on Monday dissolved Trovoada's government and requested his party to propose a new candidate for the position of Prime Minister and head of government within 72 hours.
Trovoada held a press conference Tuesday at his office, describing the president's decision as unconstitutional. ADI, with which both Vila Nova and Trovoada are members, has appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn the decision.
Trovoada signed a letter as ADI chairman Wednesday, nominating Helio de Almeida as the new Prime Minister.
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