Angola’s ruling party claims victory in tightly contested vote

João Lourenço casts his vote in Luanda in last week’s general elections. Photograph: Reuters

Angola’s electoral commission has declared the incumbent president, João Lourenço, and the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) winners of last week’s elections.

The polls were the most tightly contested vote in the country’s democratic history, and have been described by analysts as an “existential moment”.