Angola’s ruling party supports President Joao Lourenco for second term | Stories

The MPLA leader, who replaced Jose Eduardo dos Santos as president in 2017, will run in next year’s elections.

Angola’s ruling party, which has been in power for almost half a year, has elected President Joao Lourenco as its next general election.

Members of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) on Friday re-elected Lourenco as party leader at a rally in Luanda.

It came just days after the main opposition party, UNITA, re-elected Adalberto Costa Junior as their leader, making him the main candidate in the election.

Presidential elections are set to take place on August 22. Under Angola’s elections, the leader of the party with the most votes holds the highest office.

The MPLA has been running the country since gaining independence from Portugal in 1975.

Lourenco, 67, replaced Jose Eduardo dos Santos as President in 2017.

He served as security minister under dos Santos who had held full power in the country for 38 years.

Angola is rich in natural resources. The country is the third largest producer of oil in Africa but most of the 33 million people live in poverty.

Dos Santos is accused of electing relatives and friends to senior positions in his marathon administration, leaving the country with poverty and discrimination.

Lourenco has pledged to restore Angola’s oil-dependent economy and tackle corruption, leading to the removal of the leadership of those who led it especially the first family.

The children of dos Santos criticized Lourenco for “witch hunt” politics.