Elections 2022: National, foreign press highlight Angola’s elections

 Luanda - The general elections in Angola, whose voting took place on Wednesday (24), are under the spotlight on home and foreign media.

In Angola, the main bodies continue to hold their spaces with the highlight of the election, with stress to the vote that brought together 14.3 million voters.

The same can be said of Portugal, France, Spain, Great Britain and the United States (US).

Media outlets such RTP, France 24, Euronews, The Guardian, CNN International and Washington Post, placing this at the top of their agendas the political moment that Angola is experiencing.

Portugal-based RTP, for example, prints an article on the cover of its website with the title "Angola experienced one of the most disputed general elections ever".

The news underlines that the National Elections Commission (CNE) guarantees that the election was a success.

Euro News, on its online page, titled "Angola counting votes after general elections without incidents" and reinforces the fact that the polls were opened at 07:00 am and closed at 5 pm.

It mentions that some polling stations remained open, beyond these hours, to allow those who had not yet done so to exercise their civic rights.

The British Guardian's online page reads: “observers described this election as an existential moment for Angola and a test for democracy in the sub-Saharan African belt”.

After highlighting that the country has a very young population, The Guardian presents a portrait of the two main candidates, João Lourenço (MPLA) and Adalberto Costa Júnior (UNITA).

The Washington Post, from the United States, reports that the election campaign was peaceful, with few incidents of violence.

It highlights the fact that, for the first time, Angolans residing abroad participated in the vote.

The France 24 online page recalls that, after five years of recession, Angola returned to relative economic growth in 2021 and refers to estimates on the vote count.

The Spanish agency EFE highlighted the statements by the MPLA candidate for President of the Republic, João Lourenço, made after the vote, at the Lusíada University of Angola.

CNN International stresses that voters went to the polls Wednesday to decide who will lead the country.

It also states that the presidential elections took place simultaneously with the elections for the Angolan parliament of 220 MPs.

CNN also mentions the death of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, which happened  in July, in Spain, where he was undergoing treatment.

Almost 14.4 million voters, of the approximately 33 million inhabitants, voted in 13,238 polling stations, made up of 26,443 tables.