(Bloomberg) -- The winner of Angola’s elections faces a multitude of challenges, the most pressing of which will be to root out corruption, diversify the oil-dependent economy and ensure the nation’s wealth benefits its population, rather than a tiny elite.
The contest for the presidency is set to be a two-horse race between incumbent Joao Lourenco, who heads the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, and Adalberto Costa Junior, the charismatic leader of the main opposition National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola, or Unita. Both have outlined similar proposals to reduce living costs, create jobs, tackle graft and reduce the role the state plays in the economy.
Here’s a snapshot of the leading contenders in Wednesday’s vote:
President Joao Lourenco, 68
J-Lo, as he’s known on the streets of the capital, Luanda, has been feted abroad for implementing reforms that helped revive Angola’s economy, including privatizing a number of state companies and reining in debt.
But despite his efforts to break from his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ legacy of corruption, domestic support for Lourenco appears to have faded. That’s mainly because the Soviet Union-educated general and former defense minister has failed to resolve Angola’s biggest paradox: It produces more oil than any other African nation after Nigeria, yet the World Bank estimates that more than half of its 33 million people live on less than $2 a day.
An avid chess player, Lourenco has pleaded with his countrymen for patience, saying it’s a matter of time before his reforms translate into better living conditions. His party has sought to portray him as an ordinary citizen, airing a campaign video of him eating a meal with his wife, Ana Dias, who speaks about the sacrifices she made for her husband so he can focus on making Angola a better place to live.
Impatience with the pace of change is wearing thin, however, as evidenced by the recent eruption of protests in the capital, Luanda, over poverty and high living costs. The softly spoken Lourenco has described the demonstrations as a sign that Angola’s democracy remains robust, and insists that the MPLA -- which has held power for 47 years -- remains the only party capable of governing the country.
Adalberto Costa Junior, 60
Born in Huambo, a mountainous province about 600 kilometers (375 miles) southeast of Luanda, Costa Junior is somewhat of political outsider in Angola, having never fought in its 27-year civil war between the Soviet-backed MPLA and US-backed Unita rebels. Instead, he acted more as an international diplomat for the party, representing it in Portugal and later in Italy.
He returned to Angola when the war ended in 2002, becoming Unita’s spokesman and a member of parliament before replacing Isaias Samakuva as its president in 2019. Since then, he’s breathed new life into the opposition, with his fiery debating style and relentless criticism of the government’s failings winning him support among young urban voters.
ACJ, as he is known, complains that he’s never been interviewed on public television and that his campaign has largely been ignored by the country’s state-owned media. He’s sought to overcome the problem by resorting to YouTube and other social media platforms to reach his supporters, and he’s drawn large crowds to rallies countrywide.
Besides having failed miserably when it comes to addressing graft and rampant unemployment, the MPLA has proved lacking when it comes to bettering access to education and health services, according to Costa Junior, who trained as an electrical engineer. He’s accused Lourenco and his predecessor of behaving as if they were gods and pledged to curtail the powers of the president if he wins the election.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement