The Economic Challenges Awaiting Angola’s Next Leader

Angolan President Joao Lourenco was declared the winner of the country’s closest election since the end of a civil war two decades ago, defeating opposition leader Adalberto Costa Junior.

The National Electoral Commission announced Lourenco’s victory on Thursday, with his party winning 51.07% of the vote. The election marks the worst result for the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, which has led the country since independence from Portugal in 1975. Costa Junior’s party rejected the outcome. During Lourenco’s first term the southwest African nation recovered from a five-year recession that worsened unemployment and poverty.