The Independent Democratic Action ( pt, Acção Democrática Independente) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

. It was established in 1994 by the then president Miguel Trovoada and is a politically

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

party. It took part in the 29 July 2001 presidential elections, in which its candidate,

Fradique de Menezes Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes (born March 21, 1942) is a São Toméan politician who was the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2001 to 2011. Early life Menezes was born on the then Portuguese colony of São Tomé in 1942, the s ...

, won 55.2% of the vote and was elected president. After the elections Fradique de Menezes joined a new party - the

Force for Change Democratic Movement-Liberal Party In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

. In the

legislative election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on 3 March 2002, the Independent Democratic Action was the main party in the

Uê Kédadji Uê Kédadji is an electoral coalition in São Tomé and Príncipe. Member parties * Democratic Renovation Party * National Union for Democracy and Progress * Opposition Democratic Coalition * People's Party of Progress * Social Renewal Party � ...

alliance, that won 16.2% of the popular vote and 8 out of 55 seats. It left this alliance and won in the 2006 election 11 out of 55 seats. In the July 2006

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

, its leader

Patrice Trovoada Patrice Émery Trovoada (born 18 March 1962) is a São Toméan politician who is the 15th prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe since November 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister from February 2008 to June 2008, from August 2010 to ...

ran as the only major opposition candidate, but he was defeated by Menezes. Trovoada became Prime Minister in February 2008, but was defeated in a May 2008 vote of confidence proposed by the

Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...

(MLSTP/PSD), and in June Menezes asked the MLSTP/PSD to form a new government."Líder da oposição em São Tomé Príncipe designado primeiro-ministro"
Panapress, June 12, 2008 . The ADI denounced Menezes' designation of the MLSTP/PSD to form a government as unconstitutional, arguing that it was too late in the parliamentary term to do so, and it took the matter to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.

Evaristo Carvalho Evaristo do Espírito Santo Carvalho (22 October 1941 – 28 May 2022) was a São Toméan politician who served as the fourth president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the prime minister of the country on two o ...

has been the President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2016 to 2021, after defeating the incumbent President Manuel Pinto da Costa in the 2016 elections. President Carvalho was also Vice president of the ruling Independent Democratic Action party (ADI). Patrice Trovoada was Prime Minister from 2014 to 2018 as the leader of Independent Democratic Action party (ADI).

References

Political parties in São Tomé and Príncipe Political parties established in 1992 *Main Centrist parties in Africa {{SaoTomePrincipe-stub