Angola: Angola's President Joao Lourenço was elected to a second five-year term on Monday after his MPLA party won a narrow victory in last week's close election, continuing decades of rule in the oil-rich nation.
After the election commission announced the results, which greatly benefited the opposition, while his party won a meager majority, he promised a "President of all Angolan" and open dialogue.
"This is a victory for Angola and Angolan," Lourenco, 68, declared in his inaugural speech shortly after the announcement of the August 24 election results.
"This vote was a vote of confidence, which emphasizes the enormous responsibility of promoting social consultation and dialogue."
According to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), the main rival for Angola's total independence, the National Federation received 43.95 percent of the vote for the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (51.17%). (Unity).
Despite winning, the result, which was the closest in Angola's history, represented a low point for the MPLA and could have ended in court even after UNITA rejected the earlier provisional results.
According to election officials, four out of 16 members of the Election Commission did not approve the final results.
The MPLA has historically exercised control over the electoral system, and civic and opposition groups have expressed concerns about voter tampering.
UNITA's 60-year-old leader, Adalberto Costa Jr., called for an international panel to review the count last week.
International observers expressed concern about slow reporting on electoral rolls and state-run television, but the majority claimed the voting process was orderly and peaceful.
After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, the MPLA, a former Marxist liberation movement, ruled Angola for nearly 50 years.
But its support has steadily declined in recent elections.
In 2012, it easily won with 71.84 percent; In 2017, it fell to 61 per cent.
In the 2017 elections, UNITA got 26.67% of the vote, but it contested.
Unlike the previous elections, there was no street ceremony or horn sounding programme.
Fernandes Domingos, 38, a Luanda resident, said: "I am (I) dissatisfied because the results were not what people expected."
Rebecca Moyeta, a street vendor, echoed the sentiments, declaring: "I am very angry with this (MPLA) party ... we need a change.
According to Alex Wines of Chatham House, a UK-based think tank, UNITA had reasons to be happy, even though the fighting likely resulted in a former rebel movement.
When you consider that UNITA lost on the battlefield 20 years ago, he said, "This is an amazing result for UNITA."
"Politics in Angola must change immediately. A politics of compromise will be needed, he continued.
As per the results, the MPLA won 124 of the 220 available parliamentary seats, while the UNITA won 90.
According to Vine, only 45% of those who registered to vote, which was low turnout, indicated a growing disenchantment with politics.
On Monday, the US urged all parties to "peacefully express their views and resolve any complaints in accordance with applicable legal procedures."
The EU urged "the election authorities to do everything possible to respond in a fair and transparent manner" and supported "an open, constructive and inclusive dialogue" between the government, the opposition and civil society.
Recent elections have overshadowed Lourenço's predecessor, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as well as the state of the economy, inflation, poverty and drought.
Dos Santos was cremated in Luanda at a funeral on Sunday.
With the victory in the country's capital Luanda, the urban areas have shown the opposition's support among the youth who are fed up with the ruling party.
Angola is the second largest producer of crude oil in Africa, but the oil boom has been accompanied by nepotism and corruption.
Morocco king: Western Sahara needs "unequivocal" support
After Corona and Lumpy, new disaster increased threat in MP
