Angola’s electoral commission confirmed this Monday (29) that the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) won last week’s general elections.
As a result, the party — which took control of the country after independence in 1975 — remains in power. And the current president, João Lourenço, remains in office for a second term.
According to the count, the ruling party won a majority of 51.17% of the total votes. Its longtime adversary, Unita (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), rounded up 43.95% of them, its best ever result.
Unita leader Adalberto Costa Junior had already rejected the provisional results last week, alleging discrepancies between the commission’s count and that of the main opposition coalition. Before the elections, Unita and some public media warned of the risk of fraud.
In an interview at MPLA Luanda headquarters after the results were announced, João Lourenço said that the international community does not doubt the fairness of the election, and that his party’s victory is a “vote of confidence” by the population so that his party promote agreement and dialogue.
Lourenço also took the opportunity to promise more jobs for young people. Half of Angolans under the age of 25 are unemployed today. According to analysts, this age group was one of the most likely to vote for the Unita campaign.
In Angola there are no presidential elections. Thus, the leader of the legislative list automatically becomes head of state.
The MPLA, which in the last elections, in 2017, obtained 61% of the votes, this time had its tightest result. The party retained a majority in Parliament, with 124 out of 220 seats. But he lost the two-thirds majority that allowed him to pass laws without support from another party. Meanwhile, the opposition is stronger than ever, with 90 seats in Parliament.
Less than half of registered Angolan voters attended Wednesday’s (24th) election, the fiercest in the country’s recent history. Analysts fear the dispute could trigger mass demonstrations and violence.
