Angola's ruling party leads with 86% of votes counted - electoral commission

A woman sits outside a voting station after casting her vote during the general election in Cacuaco, a suburb of the capital, Luanda, Angola August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Provisional results in Angola's national election based on over 86% of votes counted showed that the ruling MPLA party leading the opposition, the country's National Electoral Commission (CNE) said on Thursday.

The CNE said the MPLA, which has been in power for nearly five decades, had obtained 52.08% of the votes, with main opposition party UNITA on 42.98%.

(Reporting by Catarine Demony; writing by Francesco Guarascio; editing by John Stonestreet)