Angolans go to polls to elect new president as dos Santos retires

LUANDA, Aug. 23  — Angolans are heading to the polls which started
on Wednesday to vote for a new president, as the incumbent president and
longtime leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos retires after nearly 40 years in
power.

Over 12,000 polling stations were opened all over the country at 7 a.m. for
more than 9.3 million registered Angolans to vote for a new president of
the republic, vice-president of the Republic and 220 MPs to the National
Assembly.President dos Santos, aged 74, also voted on Wednesday morning in
the southern African nation’s fourth general election since the return to
multi-party democracy in 1992 in the capital Luanda. He has decided to
step down and not run in this year’s election after 38 years in power in
the country. The presidential candidates are Joao Gonsalves Lourenco of the
ruling party MPLA, Isaías samakuva of UNITA, Abel Chivukuvuku of the
Angola’s Broad Convergence-Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), Benedito Daniel
of the Social Renewal Party (PRS), Lucas Benghy Ngonda of FNLA and Quintino
Antonio Moreira of the National Patriotic Alliance (APN). – XINHUA