Angola ruling party close to victory in divisive election

A woman looks at a ballot paper before casting her vote during the general election in Cacuaco, a suburb of the capital, Luanda, Angola August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

LUANDA (Reuters) -Angola's ruling party has a solid majority after nearly all votes were counted in a national election, the electoral commission said on Thursday, but the main opposition party has cast doubt on the results of the divisive poll.

The MPLA's likely win would give President Joao Lourenco a second five-year term in the oil-producing southern African nation, and extend his party's continuous rule of nearly five decades since independence from Portugal in 1975.