The 69-year-old has been in power for more than 32 years, a tenure that makes him Africa’s longest-serving ruler after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
However, he has kept analysts, investors and oil companies in Africa’s largest crude producer after Nigeria guessing about his political plans.
The No. 2 spot in the party’s list of candidates, announced by state news agency Angop, has been keenly anticipated as a signal of Dos Santos’ choice of a successor who may take over a year or two after the election.
A report in September in Angolan weekly Novo Jornal sparked speculation by citing MPLA sources as saying Dos Santos had selected Vicente, then head of Sonangol, as his successor to take over before or after the election.
The MPLA’s refusal to deny the report intensified the speculation and Dos Santos’ decision to bring Vicente into the government by creating the post of Economic Coordination Minister in January fuelled it further.
Other possible successors had included Vice-President Fernando Piedade Dias dos Santos and powerful minister Carlos Feijo.
The election, which will be only the second in Angola after the end of 27-year civil war a decade ago, will elect members of parliament, with the person heading the list of the winning party becoming president.
The MPLA is almost certain to win the vote due to its huge financial backing and control over most Angolan media.