Angola’s main opposition party says it has filed a legal challenge to the recently announced election results, in which the long-ruling MPLA won with a significantly reduced majority.
This was disclosed by the National secretary of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Faustino Mumbika who stated that the complaint about the final results was filed with the (national electoral commission) on Friday.
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The Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was declared the winner with 51.17 percent of the vote on Monday, securing a second term for President Joao Lourenco, 68.
The August 24 elections were the most hotly contested in the oil-rich country since its first multi-party vote in 1992.
UNITA made significant gains, earning 43.95 percent of the vote, up from 26.67 percent in the previous election in 2017.
However, UNITA leader Adalberto Costa Junior, 60, reiterated in a late-night video address that the former rebel movement “does not recognize the final results” of the national electoral commission.
The MPLA has traditionally wielded control over the electoral process and opposition and civic groups had raised fears of vote tampering.