By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The opposition National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) has ended its campaign with an appeal on Angolans to vote for change as they head to polls Wednesday in what is expected to be the closest election since the country first allowed a multi-party vote in 1992.
The UNITA presidential candidate, Adalberto Costa Júnior urged Angolan citizens to make sure they secure their votes on the 24th near the polling stations.
At the closing of his campaign on Monday, while raising concerns about the electoral process, Adalberto Costa Junior stressed his party’s confidence before the election observers. He made it clear that Cape Verde is in the CPLP, the type of democracy that Angola can follow.
Costa Junior, 60-year-old acknowledged the role of the youths in changing the political landmark of Angola with their significant and growing voting bloc.
“UNITA’s mandate represents the realisation of a dream, the realisation of the youths’ goals,” he said.
His supporters said they were fed up with the high level of poverty and corruption in Angola that festered under former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
He ruled the country for nearly four decades until 2017 and died last month.
“Our life is difficult. Everything is very expensive because of these people who are in government,” said Jorge Domingos, 27, a student and a self-employed trader.
Supporters are optimistic about Costa Junior’s approach to politics, in building a coalition with other opposition parties to take on the MPLA.
“We are here because people want an alternative. Angola is a rich country but its people are suffering. It’s very sad. We absolutely want an alternative,” said Luis Santana, a street vendor who earns $5 per day.
UNITA has formed an electoral coalition with two other opposition groups to boost its chances of defeating the incumbent president President João Lourenço who is the leader Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA.
Costa Junior was joined by the popular Abel Chivukuvuku, president of the PRA-JA Servir Angola party, along with the head of Democratic Bloc party, Filomeno Vieira Lopes.
Despite the excitement over the opposition and high levels of despair and frustration among its mainly youthful supporters, analysts say that the MPLA however is likely to win the vote.
Lourenço’s running mate, Esperanca Maria Eduardo Francisco da Costa, would be the country’s first female vice-president if the MPLA wins.
The MPLA’s final campaign rally held on Saturday but incumbent President Joao Lourenco held a special women’s rally earlier Monday.
Both parties have traded tackles on alleged plans to rig the election.
