Angola: Lourenco Takes Oath of Office for 2nd Term as President

On Thursday, the President-elect of Angola Joao Lourenco took the oath of office for a second term as the nation's president at a ceremony held in Luanda, the capital of Angola.

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The leader of the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) took the oath of office in the presence of at least 12 heads of state and dozens of other representatives.

"I, Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, upon taking office as President of the Republic, swear on my honor to carry out my assigned functions with all my dedication," he said during his inauguration ceremony in the Plaza de la República.

The defense and security forces have a considerable presence in the main streets and avenues of Luanda during the inauguration day.

On Aug. 29, the MPLA was declared the winner of the 2022 general elections held on Aug. 24, by gaining 51.17 percent of the votes cast, while the nation's largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), gained 43.95 percent of the total votes cast.

The National Electoral Commission (CNE) also announced that the MPLA won 124 of the 220 National Assembly seats. The UNITA finished second with 90 seats in parliament.

The remaining parties such as PRS, FNLA and the PHA elected two deputies each in the National Assembly. The elected deputies will be sworn in on Friday.