Unequal and divided, Angola braces for tense election

FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Angola's main opposition UNITA party stand on a lamppost as they wave flags during an election rally in Luanda August 25, 2012. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

LUANDA (Reuters) - Angolans head to the polls next week in what is likely to be a tense standoff between a ruling party in power for nearly five decades and an opposition with growing appeal to a frustrated, impoverished youth.

The MPLA, led by João Lourenço since 2017, has governed Africa's second-biggest oil producer since independence from Portugal in 1975. But longtime opposition party UNITA is stronger than ever, as anger grows at government failures to convert vast oil wealth into better living conditions for all.