Angola's ruling party, headed by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, was ahead by a massive lead in the national elections, according to partial results released Saturday by the electoral commission, dpa reported. The commission said dos Santos' People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola had 74.4 per cent of the tally. Unless contested, the results mean the 70-year-old will win another term in power. Just under 60 per cent of votes have been counted in the oil-rich nation, which dos Santos has ruled for 33 years. The opposition UNITA party has scooped 17.94 per cent of the vote. UNITA spokesman Alcides Sakala has said his party will accept the outcome of the election. The authorities said voting on Friday was carried out peacefully. These are only the third elections in Angola since its independence from Portugal in 1975. The last poll was in 2008. The one before that took place in 1992, and the disputed result sparked a second phase of the southern African nation's lengthy civil war. Dos Santos is Africa's second-longest serving head of state, though he was never formally elected for most of his reign.
