São Tomé and Príncipe President Evaristo Carvalho in Hospital

President Evaristo Carvalho of Sao Tome and Principe has been hospitalised since Saturday following an illness.

The President who is currently at the Dr Ayres de Menezes Hospital was operated on for an umbilical hernia.

President Carvalho’s admission is coming at a time the country is reeling from an electoral crisis due to the delay in holding the second round of the presidential elections.

The crisis was generated by a request for a recount of votes in the first round by the current president of the national assembly Delfim Neves, who is a candidate.

The country’s parliament has not yet set a new date for the second round of the presidential poll. President Carvalho is not a contender, and his term ends on September 3, 2021.

Carlos Vila Nova, of ADI -the country’s biggest opposition party had the most votes in the first round of presidential election held on July 18.

ADI accuses Delfim Neves, who came third, of planning a coup in order to temporarily assume the presidency and indefinitely postpone the conclusion of the electoral process.