Sao Tome 2003
A constitutional amendment process took place in Sao Tome, beginning October 28, 2002, and concluding with promulgation of the revised constitution by President Fradique de Menezes on January 25, 2003. Ambiguous provisions in the 1990 Constitution over whether the President was obligated to name a Prime Minister and government with parliamentary support or one of his preference led to a major institutional and constitutional crisis, culminating in an inter-branch confrontation.
As required by the Constitution, 50 of the 55 People’s National Assembly deputies approved an internal commission to revise the Constitution on October 28, 2002. All four parties represented in the parliament were represented on the commission, which was headed by ___ and also consulted with the state bureaucracy in its work. The proposed amendments would have restricted the president’s foreign policy and treaty-making powers as well as clarified the government nomination process and other facets of inter-branch relations, created a Constitutional Court, and allowed criminal prosecution of political figures for corruption and similar crimes. The first vote on the amendment package was held on December 7, 2002, and passed with 52 votes for and 2 votes against, well exceeding the two-thirds requirement. After a delay, President de Menezes vetoed the amendments, citing 35 spelling errors, and returned the document to the Assembly. The deputies corrected the draft, re-approved it with 51 votes in favor, and returned it to de Menezes on January 11, 2003.
By law, de Menezes was required to promulgate the amendments within a certain time period since the second reading had passed with greater than 2/3 support. On January 16, however, de Menezes vetoed the document for a second time, provoking a constitutional crisis; he argued that amendments causing such serious changes to the balance of power between branches required a referendum for ratification. After parliamentarians protested, de Menezes dissolved parliament on January 22 and called for new elections. Mediation from the head judge of the Supreme Court Maria Alice Graça between President de Menezes and Prime Minister Maria das Neves resulted in a compromise. Parliament was recalled and the elections were cancelled; the amendments were edited so that only the Constitutional Court and the criminal prosecution elements came into effect immediately. The remaining elements were altered to come into force following a referendum in early 2006, prior to the next scheduled presidential election. President de Menezes promulgated the document on January 25, 2003, and it entered into force on March 4, 2003.