Election Date: September 5, 2008

Abstract: At stake: National Assembly

At stake: National Assembly

Background

This Southwest African nation shares borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Zambia and Namibia.

Angola’s history has been marked by violent conflicts. A Portuguese colony, Angola was a major source of slaves sent to Brazil when it too was a Portuguese New World colony.

Portugal maintained its domination of Angola for four centuries. After World War II, an independence movement was crushed by the Portuguese army. Several groups assembled to rebel against the colonial power, such as the Marxist-minded Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

In 1975, Angola finally became independent from Portugal following almost 15 years of all-out war with the Portuguese. The MPLA and leader Jose Eduardo Dos Santos led the final battle for independence and took control of the new government. The party—and the man—have held power since.

A different kind of conflict broke out just after Angola gained independence, as the country’s different political movements were eyed by the United States and the Soviet Union as proxy armies. Right at the height of the Cold War, the MPLA was backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, while the anti-communist UNITA was supported by Washington.

In 1989, the last Cuban troops left Angola. Despite the end of the Cold War, the country’s political forces continued to behave more like organized armies. The ruling MPLA sought to open the door for a more democratic state with several political parties, but continued to fight UNITA. While the MPLA had control over the country’s resources via the government, UNITA controlled the vast majority of Angola’s lucrative diamond trade—which leader Jonas Savimbi used to recruit soldiers and maintain a well-armed organization.

In 1992, Angolans hoped for peace as open elections were called by the government. However, what was supposed to be the end of the one-party socialist rule turned into a new civil war. Dos Santos and his MPLA won the election, which was monitored and approved by the United Nations (UN). But Savimbi and UNITA cried foul and resumed their fight against the establishment.

In 1994, the UN led a peace effort in Angola known as the Lukasa peace accord. In 1997, UNITA and the MPLA agreed to be partners in a coalition government. The alliance did not survive Savimbi’s repeated violations of the agreements—such as his reluctance to dismantle his army—and the government fell apart in 1998. War resumed, and it would take another four years before a peace agreement was signed with UNITA again.

On Feb. 22, 2002, Savimbi was killed by government forces. On Apr. 4, UNITA leaders signed a ceasefire and gave up their arms. The group officially became Angola’s main opposition party.

It is estimated that over 500,000 people died during Angola’s 30-year civil war—although some accounts raise the toll to over 1 million—and close to 4 million residents fled the country. The country’s economy was completely ravaged. As recently as six years ago, hundreds of thousands of Angolans were facing starvation directly linked to poverty.

One more conflict continued to trouble the feeble peace of Angola. The separatist Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Exclave (FLEC-FAC) fought for the independence of an area north of Angola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, until a peace deal was signed in 2006. Cabinda is crucial to Angola’s economy, as close to 65 per cent of its oil comes from there.

Angola is the second-largest oil producer in the region. It has been a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2006.

The country remains one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa today, though its economy has started to grow at a faster pace driven mainly by high oil prices. Dos Santos’ government has been accused of massive corruption linked to the profitable oil industry. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), more than $4 billion U.S. in oil receipts have vanished from Angola’s treasury in the last six years alone. The global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International rated Angola among the 10 most corrupt countries in the world in 2005.

China has a major economic presence in Angola. In 2004, the Chinese Eximbank approved a $2 billion U.S. line of credit to Angola, which has been used mostly to re-build infrastructure affected by the war.

Angola’s population of about 12.2 million is on average 17-years-old. The average life expectancy stands at a low 38 years. High mortality is due mainly to infectious diseases, and many other maladies stemming from untreated water and lack of sanitation.

The major ethnic groups in Angola are Ovimbundu (37%), Kimbundu (25%), Bakongo (13%), abd mestiço (mixed European and native African, 2%).

2008 National Assembly Election

Angola has not held a democratic process since 1992. The legislative election will take place on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6. A presidential election is expected to take place in 2009.

On Feb. 8, deputy prime minister Aguinaldo Jaime assured the business community in Portugal that Angola’s upcoming election would not represent a threat to political stability and double-digit economic growth, saying, "Is there a risk of returning to the past now that Angola is entering the second electoral process in its history? I don’t think so. Angola is living through a period of political and economic stability and that stability is a precious good for Angolans."

Jaime also issued a promising forecast, adding, "The official growth estimate is 24 percent in 2008. I don’t know if it will take place, but I would like to underline that Angola’s economy will continue to grow in a very robust fashion with double digit growth."

According to data from the Inter-ministerial Commission on the Electoral Process (CIPE), there are close to eight million registered voters. The registration process is still open as of early March.

On May 20, Angola’s parliament approved a proposal that extends the deadline for the release of official election results, from 10 to 15 days. UNITA deputy chief whip Daniel Domingos Maluka expressed dismay, saying, “Why do we want to change the announcement of deadlines four months before the elections? Why now? What allowed people in Zimbabwe to know the results is that they were posted immediately after the vote, and it seems that MPLA wants to avoid that.”

On Jul. 24, a total of 14 political parties were allowed to take part in the legislative ballot. An additional 14 political organizations were barred due to irregularities in their application documents.

On Jul. 25, Angolan prime minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos expressed confidence in his MPLA party’s victory in this year’s ballot, adding, “We are convinced that these elections will be free and fair and that all parties are prepared to accept the results.”

On Aug. 2, MPLA launched its campaign, promising to bring an end to the post-war era. MPLA secretary general Juliao Mateus Paolo declared: “We have initiated the process of national reconstruction throughout the country. (…) Because of war, it has not been possible to re-house more people. But we will construct new comfortable neighbourhoods. Each victory will be followed by even bigger victories.”

On Aug. 5, Dos Santos called for all parties to maintain peace during the electoral process, saying, “I appeal to all citizens and political parties to keep a responsible attitude and to respect the law and order so that the electoral campaign is carried out peacefully. (…) Angola can be an example to the African continent and to the world in general”.

The prime minister went on to say: “This moment represents an unprecedented step towards the normalization of the political life of the country and will improve the democratic state,” and announced that “from now on legislative elections will be held regularly, with periodic renewals every four years in accordance with the constitution.”

On Aug. 14, the government dismissed reports by the New York-based Human Rights Watch organization that there have been “numerous” cases of harassment against opposition parties by MPLA officials. The prime minister asked HRW to refrain from interfering in the ballot, and said that the vote would be “free, fair and transparent.”

On Aug. 20, Jorge Valentim, a founding member of UNITA, joined the MPLA and called for Angolans to support the ruling party that he had previously fought against. Valentim told voters: “Trust me when I ask you to give the MPLA party and its president an unprecedented majority so that he can continue to lead the people towards peace, reconciliation and progress.” Valentim had led a dissident branch of UNITA in the past, and in 2006 was expelled from the party along with other members for allegedly supporting MLPA legislation.

On Aug. 22, the United Nations (UN) said that Angola has expelled close to 85,000 Congolese citizens in the past three months. Ivo Brandau, spokesman for the UN humanitarian coordination office in Kinshasa, declared: “It was announced by the [Angolan] authorities that they wanted to expel illegal foreigners before the elections.”

On Sept. 1, electoral commission spokesman Adao de Almeida explained the process, saying, “Propaganda materials will remain at least 500 meters away from polling stations on election date and no political activities will be allowed near poll stations.”

Voting took place on Sept. 5. The election was relatively peaceful. Chief EU observer Luisa Morgantini declared: “Voting was a disaster in Luanda following woeful organization.” According to Morgantini, many technical problems arose during the election, such as lack of ballots and lack of the ink used to mark people’s fingers and prevent multiple voting. In some cases, polling officials even failed to show up. While the situation was better outisde the capital, problems were reported there too.

Caetano de Sousa, head of the National Electoral Commission, said voting would be extended in the province around the capital, and all the voting stations which did not open due to technical problems would be functioning on Sept. 6.

Dos Santos cast his ballot in Luanda, declaring, “We have now started a new political era, a new way of using politics to obtain our goals.”

The opposition UNITA has asked the electoral commission for a fresh election. UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva declared: “The system practically collapsed and we have to do something to recover the process.” The FNLA called the election “extremely flawed”, but stopped short of demanding a new ballot.

Voting went on with some organizational problems but no major violent outbreaks on Sept. 5. Provisional results suggested that the MPLA would get an overwhelming victory, securing the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to pass major policy initiatives, including constitutional amendments.

UNITA conceded defeat. On Sept. 9, Jardo Muekalia, UNITA’s representative for electoral issues, told reporters: “We don’t want to create a situation where this drags on for weeks and weeks. (…) We want to make sure for peace and stability’s sake we end this on a high note.”

EU observers condemned the ballot, saying it fell short of international standards. The monitoring team pointed to the difficulties presented on voting day, when some polling stations opened late or failed to open altogether in Luanda, the capital city. EU observer mission chief Luisa Morgantini talked of “disastrous organization” on voting day, adding, “The efficiency that we have seen during the campaign, you don’t see it on the ground. You see confusion.”

Despite the criticism, European observers also said in a report that the elections had been peaceful and showed the Angolan people’s “clear commitment to the country’s democratic process and desire to leave behind a past marked by decades of war and civil conflict.”

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission said the elections were conducted in “an open, transparent and professional manner.” Benjamin Bounkoulou, head of the African Union (AU) observer mission, declared the electoral process as “transparent, free and went in line with AU standards.” The U.S. government issued a statement about the ballot, saying, “We congratulate the people of Angola on their participation in this important step in strengthening their democracy.”

On Sept. 11, investigative Angolan journalist Rafael Marques criticized western nations for failing to condemn more fiercely what he called “rigged elections.” Marques assured that this was the case because of Angola’s oil wealth, declaring, “With the full and unflinching support from the international community for anything this regime does, it can safely privatize the whole country without any fear of criticism. It will be a free ride in terms of awarding most of the prizes to the presidential family and government officials.” Marques added: “The West has completely colluded in this [election result], not just because of oil but because Angola is a sort of a cafeteria for Western companies to do business without ethics. (…) It’s in the interests of the Western oil companies and many other business interests that Angola remains as it is.”

Final results announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) on Sept. 18 gave the ruling MPLA a landslide win with 81.64 per cent of the vote and 191 seats in the 220-member parliament. UNITA gathered 10.39 percent of the votes and 16 seats. The Social Renewal Party (PRS), the Angola National Freedom Front (FNLA) and the New Democratic Coalition (NDC) won the remaining seats.
 
On Sept. 29, dos Santos appointed Paulo Kassoma as Angola’s new prime minister. On Sept. 30, the new cabinet was sworn in. The new working group includes foreign affairs minister Assuncao dos Anjos, a former ambassador to Portugal. Dos Santos told lawmakers: “Angola is turning an important page in her history, by starting a new circle for a better life for all.”

Political Players

President: Jose Eduardo Dos Santos - MPLA
Prime minister: Paulo Kassoma

Legislative Branch: The National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) has 220 members, elected to four-year terms; 130 members are elected by proportional representation and 90 members are elected in provincial districts.

Results of Last Election:

President - Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, 1992

	Vote%
José Eduardo dos Santos - Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola	49.57%
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi - National Union for the Total Independence of Angola	40.07%
Antonio Alberto Neto - Angolan Democratic Party	2.16%
Holden Roberto - National Front for the Liberation of Angola	2.11%
Other candidates	6.09%

National Assembly - Sept. 5 and Sept. 6, 2008

	Vote%	Seats
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola	81.64%	191
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola	10.39%	16
Social Renewal Party	3.17%	8
New Democracy Electoral Union	1.20%	2
National Front for the Liberation of Angola	1.11%	3
Democratic Party for Progress – Angolan National Alliance	0.51%	--
Liberal Democratic Party	0.33%	--
Democratic Angola – Coalition	0.29%	--
Party for Democratic Support and Progress of Angola	0.27%	--
Front for Democracy	0.27%	--
Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of Angola	0.24%	--
Democratic Renewal Party	0.22%	--
Electoral Political Platform	0.19%	--
Angolan Fraternal Forum Coalition	0.17%	--

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