Angolan ruling party wins five more years in power

Angola’s long-dominant party has won another five years in power, but with a much-reduced majority, the electoral commission has announced. (BBC)

The MPLA, under President João Lourenço, took 51.2% in last week’s election. Its closest rival, Unita, had its best-ever result with 44%.

Unita previously said it was considering contesting the outcome.

The MPLA, in power for nearly five decades, has faced criticism over high levels of poverty and unemployment.

Its share of the vote was down from the 61% it gained in the previous elections in 2017, while Unita’s share is sharply up from 27%.

Despite Angola being rich in oil and minerals, many have not benefitted from that wealth.

Unita’s leader Adalberto Costa Júnior last week rejected the provisional results, saying they did not match the party’s own tally.

The MPLA has been in power since independence from Portugal in 1975.

It fought a protracted civil war with Unita until 2002, but the two decades of peace have not brought the gains that many had hoped for. Around half the population lives on less than $2 a day.

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