In 'olieland' Angola remains the old one

luanda - The elections in Angola on Wednesday were won by the MPLA, the party of retiring president José Eduardo dos Santos. Independent

According to preliminary results, the government party is 61 percent of the votes, while over 98 percent of the votes will be counted. Unita, the biggest competitor, comes to 26.7 percent of the votes.

The 74-year-old Dos Santos had been President of Angola, a former Portuguese colony since 1979. He was one of the longest-standing heads of state in Africa. The MPLA's profit is expected to be followed by the current minister of defense, 63-year-old João Lourenço.

Lourenço is a party loyal. He will change little in the country. After Nigeria, Angola is the country with the most oil in Africa, with only a handful of oil stocks benefiting. Good example is Isabel dos Santos, daughter of José Eduardo. She has become Africa's first female billionaire, mainly due to investments in telecom and oil.

Many young people are ready with the MPLA, but elderly people are very grateful for Portugal's independence. The MPLA has fought hard for it. Opposition party Unita can count on more sympathy for young people.

That party had already not known the outcome on Friday morning because its own counts would give a different picture.