By John Ikani
Angola’s governing party, the MPLA – in power since independence nearly 50 years ago – appears close to winning another term, as the counting of votes in Wednesday’s elections enter its final stages.
With more than 97% of the votes in Wednesday’s election counted, the MPLA was polling about 51% against 44% for Unita, electoral officials say.
This would give President João Lourenço a second five-year term in office.
Election commission spokesman Lucas Quilondo said these were effectively the final results. “It does not seem to us that there will be substantial changes,” he told a news briefing on Thursday evening.
However, Mihaela Webba, vice-president of the parliamentary group for UNITA – led by presidential hopeful Adalberto Costa Junior – had previously said on Thursday that the party believed it was likely the true victor.
The MPLA has governed Angola since independence.
Analysts had earlier predicted that the results were likely to be closer than in previous elections, with many Angolans frustrated that only the elite has benefitted from the country’s oil wealth.
Angola’s unemployment rate is around 30%, but among the youth that figure reaches 60%, official statistics say.
Even if UNITA lost, this was the MPLA’s worst result yet. The ruling party overwhelmingly lost in Luanda, which analysts described as a “significant defeat.”
The MPLA vote is down from the 61% it gained in the previous elections in 2017, while Unita’s share is sharply up from the 27% it polled last time, fuelled by high levels of poverty and youth unemployment.
