III. Background

The parliamentary elections of September 2008 were the second multiparty elections in Angola's history. After independence in 1975, the Movimento Popular para a Libertação de Angola (MPLA) established a one-party state. The first multiparty, concurrent parliamentary and presidential elections in 1992 had given the MPLA a majority of 129 out of 220 seats and the main opposition group the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) 70, with 10 other opposition parties winning representation in parliament.[1] The first round of presidential elections that year was not conclusive, and a run-off between incumbent president José Eduardo dos Santos and his main competitor Jonas Savimbi, then president of UNITA, never took place. Dos Santos has been in power since 1979.

These first multiparty elections in 1992 had been a traumatic experience. They were intended to consolidate the peace and democratization process initiated with the peace accords signed in 1991 and the new constitution in 1992, but civil war resumed when UNITA refused to accept the results (UNITA only took up its seats in parliament in 1997). A further peace agreement was signed in 1994, which established the Government of National Unity (Governo de Unidade e Reconciliação Nacional, GURN) and a limited power-sharing agreement between the MPLA and UNITA at national and local levels. The war finally ended in 2002 following Savimbi's death in combat and UNITA's ensuing military defeat.

The government repeatedly delayed new elections until 2008, arguing that post-war reconstruction was a priority and a necessary precondition for holding elections. The parliamentary elections on September 5-6 brought a resounding MPLA victory, with 81.7 percent of the vote. The elections were contested by 14 political parties and coalitions, but only four opposition parties were able to secure representation in parliament, where the MPLA's landslide translated into 191 of the 220 seats. Sixteen seats went to UNITA, eight to the Partido de Renovação Social (PRS), three to the Frente Nacional para a Libertação de Angola (FNLA), and two to Nova Democracia. (The conduct of these elections is described in the following chapters.)

In 2006 another peace agreement was signed with a faction of the separatist guerrilla movement Frente de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda ( FLEC) in the enclave of Cabinda. This has not been fully effective, with sporadic attacks from remaining FLEC forces continuing in the north of Cabinda.

President Dos Santos announced on November 28, 2008, a project to revise the 1992 constitution, and an MPLA-dominated Constitutional Commission has been tasked with this. Dos Santos stated that one issue to be decided is whether to retain direct presidential elections or have the president be elected indirectly, by parliament.[2] This has stirred up controversy, including within the MPLA,[3] and has added to uncertainly about whether a presidential election will take place in 2009, or at all.