The constitutional court has overturned the conviction of the former president s son in a fraud case, citing violations of his right to a fair trial, Angola s beleaguered former First Family has enjoyed a small victory after the country s constitutional court voided the 2020 conviction of José Filomeno dos Santos, aka Zenú, who has been serving his sentence under house arrest.
The ruling party may have won, but it has not emerged stronger from the result, nor has the President, who did not act like a graceful victor, The 24 August general elections produced the victory that President João Lourenço expected, but not by a margin that the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) is used to.
Oppositionists and family of former president accuse MPLA government for exploiting obsequies for political gain, On 29 August, the Comissão Nacional Eleitoral (CNE – electoral commission) announced that President João Lourenço had won with 51.5% in what it describes as fair and transparent national elections five days earlier but it failed to address civil society and opposition claims of systematic vote theft.
Alongside the conventional official campaign, the MPLA is working behind the scenes, insiders say, to manipulate the result in its favour, The opposition to the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) government is enjoying its strongest popular support ever, posing an unprecedented challenge in the 24 August general election. Opinion pollster Afrobarometer gave the MPLA only a 7% lead over the opposition União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) in May, and many suspect the gap has narrowed since, with video of immense crowds at opposition rallies circulating on social media.
Despite the boost from higher oil prices, the ruling party has presided over a hefty fall in living standards and broken promises on job creation, President João Lourenço and the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) approached the 24 August general election still favoured to win. If it does win it won’t be on the strength of the MPLA’s economic record since Lourenço took over from former President José Eduardo dos Santos in September 2017, despite a recent improvement in Angola’s growth prospects as it emerges from half a decade of recession. At least one senior economist questions why, given this record, Angola’s urban poor would return the ruling party to power.