At the head of the country since independence from Portugal in 1975, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won 51.17% of the vote, according to the final results published by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), against 43.95% for the first opposition party, Unita.
Unita “does not recognize the results” of the CNE and “will file an appeal which will have the effect of suspending the declaration of the final results”, indicated its secretary general, Alvaro Chikwamanga Daniel, in a video statement recorded and transmitted on Tuesday to the AFP.
The party, led by the main opponent, Adalberto Costa Junior, 60, claims “not to have been informed of the decision” of the commission to ratify the results, and not to have received a “copy of the minutes of the counting “.
The candidates have 72 hours after the announcement of the official results to seize the constitutional court.
Four of the 16 CNE members did not sign the final results, expressing doubts about the electoral process.
With the control of the party in power on the organization of the poll and the public media, the opposition and part of public opinion feared the risk of fraud at the end of the vote, held last Wednesday.
Foreign observers expressed last week their “concerns” about the electoral lists in particular.
The opposition had already disputed preliminary results published Thursday, claiming to have obtained more votes according to its own count. These first results also gave the winning MPLA.
Less than half of the approximately 14.4 million registered voters took part in the vote, where eight parties were in the running.
– “Dialogue and consultation” –
At his party’s headquarters in Luanda, Lourenço hailed “a victory for Angola and the Angolans” at the end of this election, the tightest in the history of the country led by the MPLA since its independence from Portugal in 1975.
He also promised “dialogue and consultation” during his second term. There is no presidential election in Angola, the head of the list of the winning party in the legislative elections is invested with the functions of Head of State.
The MPLA, which recorded its lowest score (61% in 2017), retains an absolute majority in Parliament with 124 seats out of 220. But it loses the two-thirds majority which until now allowed it to pass laws without the support of another party.
With promises to reform and to eradicate poverty and corruption, the opposition has particularly won over connected urban youth, particularly in the capital’s constituency where it won 62.25% of the vote.
Unita had already contested the election results in 2017, postponing the final process for several weeks. The victory of the MPLA and Joao Lourenço, then designated successor to the country’s former strongman José Eduardo dos Santos, had finally been confirmed.
Accused of having taken over whole sections of the economy and in particular the oil windfall, dos Santos died in July in Barcelona.
A state funeral was held in Luanda the day before the election results were announced.
Never worried by justice, his relatives were targeted by a vast anti-corruption operation launched by Mr. Lourenço.
Loyal dolphin, the latter had surprised by dismissing many leaders of institutions and companies, as well as heads of the security apparatus close to the former head of state.
The latter’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, was particularly targeted.
Many believe that this campaign was selective and politically motivated, fueling divisions within the ruling party. The dos Santos clan denounced for its part a “witch hunt”.
