Angola’s president and ruling party poised for election win

By FERNANDO LIMA
Associated Press

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Angola’s President Joao Lourenco appears set to win a second term and his MPLA party is close to extending its 47-year rule over the country. With 97% of ballots counted from the Western African nation’s election, the ruling Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola, known as the MPLA, had 51% of the vote. The National Electoral Commission said Friday that a longtime opposition party, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola, had 44% of the vote. Smaller parties took the remaining votes. Turnout in Wednesday’s election was low, with just 45.7% of registered voters casting their ballots.