Angolan President Joao Lourenco is to be sworn in for a second five-year term on Thursday amid tight security after a disputed electoral win last month.
The inauguration will be held on the historic palm tree-lined Praca da Republica square in the centre of the capital, Luanda.
Security forces set up a heavy cordon around the venue ahead of the ceremony, AFP correspondents saw, which the main opposition party said was aimed at stifling dissent.
About 20 military tanks were stationed at a large traffic circle, about a kilometre from the square. Large numbers of police and military forces had started patrolling the streets on the eve of the ceremony.
The guest list for the ceremony is strictly by invitation and limited to some 15,000 selected Angolans and 50 foreign heads of state and government, state minister Adao de Almeida told reporters.
Lourenco, 68, returned to power after the August 24 vote gave his People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) a thin majority, winning just 51.17 percent of the votes.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
