Joao Lourenco set to become Angola's new president

By Euronews

Published on 25/08/2017 - 16:13

Joao Lourenco set to become Angloa's new president

Angola’s electoral commission said on Friday (August 25) the country’s ruling MPLA party convincingly won Wednesday’s general election, citing provisional results. The main opposition (UNITA) rejected the outcome, saying the numbers had not being gathered transparently and did not tally with their own count.

The MPLA tool 61.1 percent of the votes counted, compared with UNITA’s 26.7 percent, results showed.

Following the vote, which has been largely approved by international observers, former MPLA defense minister Joao Lourenco will become Angola’s first new president for 38 years, replacing Jose Eduardo dos Santos who will remain MPLA party leader.

“We were in 14 polling stations and, in each one of them, there weren’t any incidents,” said Luis Vales, observer from Social Democrat Portuguese Party (PSD). “Everything was perfectly organised, with a really good methodology, from the voters’ arrival to their identification and the casting of their votes.”

“There’s a big evolution that allowed people to vote more easily,” said Antonio Filipe, observer from Portuguese Communist Party. “The process was quick and the voters had all the support they needed when casting their ballots, and that could be verified by everyone.”

The National Election Commission said that almost 97.82 percent of the votes have been counted. Definitive results will be published by September 6.