Angola's Governing Party Wins Divisive Election Extending Long Rule

Angola's electoral commission on Monday declared the ruling MPLA, in power for nearly five decades since independence, the winner of last week's national election, handing President Joao Lourenco a second term amid concerns about possible fraud.

The commission gave the ex-Marxist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) a 51.17% majority after all votes were counted. Its longtime opponent, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA, got 43.95%, its best result ever.

Fewer than half of Angola's registered voters turned out for Wednesday's election which, despite being the closest fought yet, extends the rule of the MPLA that has ruled since independence from Portugal in 1975 and defeated UNITA in a long civil war.