Polls closed in the evening and vote counting began on Wednesday after Angolans voted in a tight race in which the main opposition coalition had its best-ever chance of victory as millions of youths left out of its oil-fuelled booms were likely to express frustration with nearly five decades of MPLA rule.

Angolans head to the polls in a parliamentary election that is expected to see their leader of 38 years, President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, hand over the baton.