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The opposition in Angola has announced that it is contesting the victory of the ruling party in the legislative elections which gave Monday, August 29, a second term to outgoing President Joao Lourenço, after the tightest ballot in the country’s history.
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”said its secretary general, Alvaro Chikwamanga Daniel, in a video statement recorded and sent to AFP on Tuesday.
The party, led by main opponent Adalberto Costa Junior, 60, says “not having been informed of the decision” of the commission to ratify the results and not having received “copy of the minutes of the count”. The candidates have 72 hours after the announcement of the official results to seize the constitutional court. Four of the sixteen CNE members did not sign the final results, expressing doubts about the electoral process.
The tightest ballot in the country’s history
With the ruling party’s control over the organization of the ballot and the public media, the opposition and part of public opinion feared the risk of fraud following the vote, held on Wednesday 24 August. Foreign observers last week expressed their “concerns” in particular with regard to the electoral lists.
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.
At his party’s headquarters in Luanda, Mr. Lourenço welcomed“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.
Extensive anti-corruption operation
With promises to reform and 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, Mr. 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 see the campaign as selective and politically motivated, fueling divisions within the ruling party. The dos Santos clan, for its part, denounced a ” witch hunt “.