José Eduardo dos Santos – a legacy of kleptocracy - Good Governance Africa gga.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gga.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The ruling party may have won, but it has not emerged stronger from the result, nor has the President, who did not act like a graceful victor, The 24 August general elections produced the victory that President João Lourenço expected, but not by a margin that the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) is used to.
Opposition parties in Kenya and Angola challenged the official election results – but their petitions were both rejected in their countries courts, After nearly 50 years of almost total dominance, the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) suffered a nasty electoral shock in the 24 August general election (AC Vol 63 No 17, A tale of two elections), winning by only 51% of the vote according to the official count.
Oppositionists and family of former president accuse MPLA government for exploiting obsequies for political gain, On 29 August, the Comissão Nacional Eleitoral (CNE – electoral commission) announced that President João Lourenço had won with 51.5% in what it describes as fair and transparent national elections five days earlier but it failed to address civil society and opposition claims of systematic vote theft.
Despite the boost from higher oil prices, the ruling party has presided over a hefty fall in living standards and broken promises on job creation, President João Lourenço and the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) approached the 24 August general election still favoured to win. If it does win it won’t be on the strength of the MPLA’s economic record since Lourenço took over from former President José Eduardo dos Santos in September 2017, despite a recent improvement in Angola’s growth prospects as it emerges from half a decade of recession. At least one senior economist questions why, given this record, Angola’s urban poor would return the ruling party to power.