Voters in São Tomé and Príncipe are heading to the polls on Sunday for a presidential election, as one of Africa's least populous countries tries to remind everyone that it's still got democratic credentials worth burnishing. According to the National Election Commission, about 142,000 people are registered to vote - roughly 15% of whom live abroad, presumably somewhere with more reliable electricity.

Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, the island nation has built a solid reputation for peaceful, competitive elections. But this year's vote arrives amid a tense political atmosphere and a lingering constitutional crisis - because nothing says 'democracy' like a good old-fashioned crisis. Incumbent President Carlos Vila Nova is running for a second term as an independent, having ditched the ruling Acção Democrática Independente (ADI) party he represented in 2021.

Tensions between Vila Nova and his former party started in January last year when he fired Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada. Trovoada's replacement, former justice minister Ilza Amado Vaz, resigned after just three days - a tenure shorter than most people's New Year's resolutions. Current Prime Minister Américo Ramos now holds the job, for now.

On Sunday, Vila Nova faces four other candidates, including ADI parliamentary leader Nito D'Abreu. Another former prime minister, Jorge Bom Jesus, tried to withdraw his independent candidacy but missed the deadline, so he remains on the ballot like that one guest who won't leave the party. The main opposition party, the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe, is now backing Vila Nova despite being staunch ADI opponents - because politics makes strange bedfellows, or at least uncomfortable ones. Meanwhile, an ADI faction led by Ramos backs D'Abreu. If no candidate gets over 50%, there will be a second round, because one round of voting is never enough.

Businessman Domingos Monteiro, known as 'Nino', was disqualified after the constitutional court ruled he didn't meet eligibility requirements. Monteiro was born on the island, but his parents never became naturalized citizens after moving from Cape Verde. 'The constitutional court is violating the principle of equal rights,' Monteiro said, adding that it's time to say no to discrimination and xenophobia. Voters, meanwhile, have more mundane concerns: government corruption, high inflation, severe youth unemployment, chronic fuel shortages, and frequent blackouts - the usual party favors.

Corruption, D'Abreu declared at Tuesday's presidential debate, 'is the greatest catastrophe the country has experienced in this half-century of independence.' The country is seen as a trusted Western ally for security and maritime trade in the Gulf of Guinea - one of the world's biggest piracy hotspots - and has offshore oil deposits that help the economy. Observer missions from the European Union, G7+, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries are on the ground to monitor the polls, presumably with notebooks and snacks.