Delfim Neves

Neves was born on 5 June 1965 in Conceião, located in Caué District in São Tomé and Príncipe.^[1] He graduated at the Federal University of Santa Catarina.^[1] He has 4 children.^[1]

Neves ran in the 2011 presidential election and finished third with 14.36% of the vote, behind Evaristo Carvalho and the eventual winner Manuel Pinto da Costa.^[3]

In 2018, Neves became the president of the Democratic Convergence Party.^[4] He was elected President of the National Assembly on 22 November 2018, with 28 votes for his candidature, and 25 for his opponent, Carlos Cassandra Correia.^[5] In his inaugartion speech, he declared Alda do Espírito Santo and Francisco da Silva were his inspirations.^[6]

Neves was a candidate for the 2021 presidential election, supported by his Democratic Convergence Party. He finished third with 16.88% of the vote, behind Guilherme Posser da Costa and the eventual winner Carlos Vila Nova.^[7] He contested results alleging “massive electoral fraud” but was rejected by the Constitutional Court, with international observers praising the election.^[8][9][10]

On 25 November 2022, Neves was arrested for allegedly being involved in a coup d'état.^[11] However, he was later exonerated and released.^[12]