Kenya: Speaker Kingi to Represent Ruto in Angola President's Inaguration

15 September 2022
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Irene Mwangi

Nairobi — Senate Speaker Amason Kingi will be representing President William Ruto in the inauguration of the President-Elect Joao Lourenco.

Kingi who arrived in Luanda, Angola, Thursday morning was received by Foreign Affairs Minister Tete Antonio.

"Will be representing H.E. The President @WilliamsRuto at the inauguration of the President-Elect Joao Lourenco, who won the Angolan Presidential election held on August 24th, 2022,"he tweeted.

The inauguration will be held on the historic palm tree-lined Praca da Republica square in the centre of the capital, Luanda.

Angolan President Lourenco is to be sworn in for a second term on Thursday amid tight security after a disputed electoral win last month.

Several heads of state and government, including Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, are expected to be in attendance.

Lourenco, 68, returned to power after the August 24 vote gave his Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) a thin majority, winning just 51.17 percent of the votes.

The vote was to choose members of parliament, where the largest party automatically selects the president.

Opposition parties and civic groups say the vote was marred by irregularities.UNITA disputed the results in court but its appeal was tossed out.

Under its charismatic leader Adalberto Costa Junior, 60, UNITA has proved popular in urban areas and among young voters clamouring for economic change.

It did particularly well in the capital, where it won a majority for the first time.

The MPLA instead lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority with its seats dropping to 124 from 150.

Lourenco struck a conciliatory tone after the vote, pledging to promote "dialogue" and be the "president of all Angolans".

But Costa Junior has said he will skip the inauguration and promised protests against the result of the vote, but has said his party will join the new parliament.

Foreign observers from other parts of Africa praised the peaceful conduct of the polls but raised concerns over press freedom and the accuracy of the electoral roll.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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