South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he looks forward to working with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco.
This after the Marxist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) took 51.2% in last week’s polls. Its closest opponent, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, had its best results with 44%.
This is a second term for Lourenco who took over in 2017 after the late President Jose Eduardo dos Santos stood down in 2017.
Ramaphosa has sent his warmest congratulations to Lourenco.
He says the recent election reflects the trust and confidence the Angolan people have in him.
Ramaphosa says Pretoria is keen to strengthen its cordial bilateral ties with Luanda as well as matters of mutual interests in the African continent and SADC region.
Lourenco has described the results as a vote of confidence in his leadership to promote dialogue and peace.
VIDEO: Unisa Researcher Advocate Sipho Mantula on Angolan President Joao Lourenco securing a second term in office:
Elections
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.
UNITA leader Adalberto Costa Junior has rejected the results, citing discrepancies between the commission’s count and the main opposition coalition’s own tally.
Analysts fear any dispute could ignite mass street protests and possible violence among a poor and frustrated youth who voted for Costa Junior.
“The international community perceives this election as being free, fair and transparent,” Lourenco told a news conference after the final results.
He promised more jobs for the young, in a country where half of under-25s are jobless and few feel the benefit of its vast oil wealth.
Additional reporting by Reuters
