After a 16-year interregnum since the last elections, Angolans went to the polls to elect 220 Representatives for the National Assembly. The first and last general elections were held in September 1992, but, due to civil war, elections were not held at the constitutionally mandated four year increment. While it has been six years since the end of the Angolan conflict, the September 5 elections represented more than the usual post-conflict democratic process. In addition to being a necessary step in the reconciliation and reconstruction process, the elections symbolized political stability and incipient consolidation of democracy particularly with regard to Angolans’ ability to choose their representatives and legitimize political leadership. These elections were the first to be organized by the Angolans without considerable international assistance, as provided in 1992.

The Members of the National Assembly, comprising of 223 representatives, are directly elected via party lists with proportional representation for a 4-year term. The voting age in Angola is 18 years old and a total of 8,302,657 citizens were registered to participate in legislative elections – this represented a 172% increase of registered voters over the 4,828,620 in 1992. Five provinces represented about 61% of registered voters: Luanda, Huila, Benguela, Huambo, and Kwanza Sul. Preparations for the elections began in May 2005 with the approval of a legislative package that paved the way for the establishment of regulations, structures and processes for elections.

A National Electoral Commission (CNE) was created for overall administration and management of the electoral process. The CNE consists of 11 Commissioners nominated by the President, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the National Council on Social Communication. Of Angola’s 98 registered political parties, 30 submitted applications out of which 10 parties and 4 coalitions were approved to contest the legislative elections.

Legislative elections were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere with a high degree of enthusiasm by Angolans. During the 30-day election campaign period, some expected possible clashes and violence between political parties’ activists and members; however, this was not the case as the political parties demonstrated a high degree of tolerance and respect for political differences making the campaign peaceful. Contrary to expected voter apathy, due to the aftermath of 1992 elections, Angolans came out in massive numbers, were orderly and patient to cast their ballots. Eye witness accounts reported that as early as 6:00 am, there were a large number of voters queued up at polling stations scheduled to open at 7:00 am. Despite a dearth of organizational capacity and experienced election administrators, the CNE did well in planning and mobilizing resources for a successful electoral process. The CNE’s utilization of information technology devices for dissemination of information to voters and collection of election results is notable.

Election Day operation was, however, marred by what the CNE President characterized as “logistic problems” in Luanda – the biggest electoral circuit with 2,392,490 voters – resulting in CNE’s resolution to extend polling for another day in 320 polling stations. International and national observers noted the following problems on Election Day: high rate of late opening of polling stations, insufficient voting materials at some stations, non-use of voters’ list to verify identity, and non-standardized interpretation and implementation of voting procedures by polling officials. Many observed preponderance of coverage of ruling party activities by state-owned media.

At the time of writing, election results are being collated; these results are expected to validate whether Angolans have opted for “continuity” or “change” – the former being a sanction against the effectiveness of the political opposition of the last 16 years, and the latter representing a sanction against the efficiency of governance since the last election.

Whatever the outcome, the electoral process in Angola offers a rethink of conventional wisdom in several ways, among which:

• Can a single election serve multiple objectives at the same time, i.e. promotion of national reconciliation after a protracted conflict, strengthening of political tolerance and consolidation of democracy?
• To what extent can a home-grown driven electoral process succeed without international funding and technical assistance despite numerous offers of support rejected by the host institution?
• With insufficient experience and inadequate capacities, can an Election Management Body cope with the challenges of organizing elections in 37,995 stations with problems in no more than 320?