Middle East & Africa | Who’s counting?

An unofficial tally exposes Angola’s dodgy election

The opposition may have won, but it won’t taste power

Mandatory Credit: Photo by PAULO NOVAIS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13328085f)Adalberto Costa Junior (C), presidential candidate for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) holds a press conference with Abel Chivukuvuku (L) and Filomeno Vieira Lopes denying the victory of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the 24 August general elections, at the UNITA party headquarters in Luanda, Angola, 26 August 2022. The National Electoral Commission (CNE) announced 25 August that the MPLA held 51 percent of the vote after a provisional tally of the ballots.Angola UNITA presidential candidate denies victory of ruling party, Luanda - 26 Aug 2022

As sadly expected by Angolans thirsting for real change, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (mpla), which has ruled the country since 1975, made sure by hook or by crook that the elections on August 24th would give the party and its incumbent president, João Lourenço, another five years in power. Even so, the official result—51% for the mpla against 44% for its eternal opposition, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (unita)—was closer than ever before.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The winner loses”

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