蜜芽传媒

With more than 97% of the votes in Wednesday's election counted, the ruling MPLA was polling about 51% against 44% for Unita, electoral officials say.

This means President Jo茫o Louren莽o would get a second five-year term in office.

Unita said earlier it was considering contesting the results because they did not correspond to reality.

Wednesday's poll had been billed as Angola's most closely-fought election since independence in 1975.

Political commentator, Anita Coulson in Luanda, spoke to Newsday about the result.

She told Newsday, "What I'm hearing from inside the MPLA is that there are deep rifts at all levels of the party, including among the military, and people are very concerned that what the MPLA have failed to achieve in these elections, shows that the party is simply not in touch with the needs of the people that it needs to serve."

"And that it's going to have to change, and change quickly, get new blood in, start listening to people. And start delivering on the promises they've made. Because a lot of people in this country are very unhappy, they're hungry, they're unemployed, and life has gotten a lot worse".

(Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)

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