Angolans prepare for elections amid calls for a poll sit-in

By FERNANDO LIMA
Associated Press

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Angola — one of Africa’s largest oil producers — is preparing for a general election Wednesday and voters are debating whether they should vote and sit at the polling stations to monitor the process or cast their ballots and go home. The call to vote and stay is coming from the longtime opposition party, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola, known as UNITA, which says a large presence of people is needed to keep the elections accurate. President Joao Lourenco is running for a second five-year term while his party, the Peoples’ Movement for the Liberation of Angola, known by its Portuguese acronym MPLA, is campaigning to extend its 47-year run as the country’s ruling party.