Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 7, 2008

Angola's Ruling Party Headed to Victory in Chaotic Election
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1E11C69:A6F02AD83191E160866076BCCB7CBBF470AD7039DCD7B7E4&
 
With more than one half of ballots counted, Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola, MPLA, has received more than 80 percent of the
votes while opposition Union for the Total Independence of Angola,
UNITA, has about 10 percent 
Angola's ruling party appears headed for a landslide victory as election
officials count the votes from parliamentary elections on Friday and
Saturday. With more than one half of the ballots counted (54 percent),
the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA, has received
more than 80 percent of the votes while the opposition Union for the
Total Independence of Angola, UNITA, has about ten percent.
Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Luanda. An old Angolan woman casts
her ballot in the popular neighborhood of Samba, 05 Sep 2008Voters in
Angola have delivered a resounding endorsement to the Popular Movement
for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA, which has governed since
independence. The opposition Union for the Total Liberation of Angola,
UNITA, ran a distant second. It has called for a re-run of the vote
saying the elections were severely flawed. Voting was extended for a
second day Saturday after many polling stations failed on Friday to open
on time and others ran!
  out of ballot papers. A group of observers from the Pan-African
Parliamentary Union Sunday listed more than one dozen flaws. But one of
its delegates, Johnson Bartile Toskin of Uganda, said there was no sign
of violence."We are very satisfied with the conduct of the elections in
Angola," Bartile said. "We are very appreciative with the enthusiasm of
the Angolan people and we can say that all in all the elections were
free and fair."The Plataforma network of Angolan observer groups fielded
13-hundred monitors across the country. It recorded six incidents of
violence or intimidation and more than 400 other irregularities, mostly
due to a lack of voting materials. But a spokesperson, Sizaltina Cutaia,
said there was no evidence of coercion."There are issues which we are
going to write specific recommendations for, but we definitely cannot
say that there has been coercion," Cutaia said. "So what we are saying
is that the environment was conducive for people to democratically and
freely elect their representatives."Observers from the southern 
African community, SADC, also expressed general satisfaction with the
process despite the complaints. These were the second multi-party
elections in the nation's history and the first since a peace accord
ended Angola's 27-year civil war. Voters appeared to endorse the MPLA's
campaign pledge to use revenues from the booming petroleum industry to
accelerate the reconstruction of roads, railways and education and
health services. UNITA and 12 other opposition parties campaigned on the
need for change after three decades of MPLA rule. More than five
thousand candidates competed for the 220 seats in the national assembly.
Each party was given air-time on state-owned broadcasting media to
present its platform. But opposition parties and some human rights
organizations accused the government of using patronage and its
influence over the media to favor the ruling party. The vote is seen as
a forerunner of presidential elections due next year.


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