Angola poll legitimacy challenged
Sunday, September 7, 2008
VOTING in Angola's parliamentary election resumed yesterday for an unscheduled second day amid charges the poll had been chaotic and violated the African nation's electoral law.
The election, Angola's first for 16 years, is largely a race between the ruling MPLA and opposition Unita party. It has been keenly watched by the international community because of controversy marring recent African polls and Angola's emergence as a major oil producer.
Hopes the poll would go smoothly foundered last Friday when scores of polling stations failed to open on time and others did so hours late, preventing many residents from voting in Luanda province, home to more than 20 per cent of Angola's 8.3 million registered voters.
Unita challenged the legitimacy of the vote in Luanda province at the country's Constitutional Court.
"We had no choice but to file the challenge. Conditions did not exist for the election in Luanda (province) yesterday and they still do not exist today," Unita spokesman Adalberto da Costa said.
The government has denied any electoral wrongdoing.
Angola's electoral commission extended the voting into Saturday as a result of the problems. A spokesman for the commission said voting began at 320 polling stations yesterday morning.
Problems with voter registration lists were cited as the main cause of the delays, which were concentrated in Luanda province.
International observers expressed concern at the failure to provide the lists.
"The law was broken because the electoral registration was not distributed," Luisa Morgantini, who is leading a 120-member EU team, said. "We cannot say the process was done according to the rules."
Morgantini said Angola's election officials should consider meeting with international observers to discuss the problems.
Unita and other opposition parties have demanded that the poll be held again. Unita leader Isaias Samakuva described the process last Friday as a "mess" and it was not clear whether the voting extension would mollify his party.
Tensions between Unita (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) have simmered since the former rebel group ended its 27-year war against the state in 2002. In the run-up to the poll, Unita accused the MPLA of using state funds for its campaign and the state-run media to publicise its cause.Reuters
The election, Angola's first for 16 years, is largely a race between the ruling MPLA and opposition Unita party. It has been keenly watched by the international community because of controversy marring recent African polls and Angola's emergence as a major oil producer.
Hopes the poll would go smoothly foundered last Friday when scores of polling stations failed to open on time and others did so hours late, preventing many residents from voting in Luanda province, home to more than 20 per cent of Angola's 8.3 million registered voters.
Unita challenged the legitimacy of the vote in Luanda province at the country's Constitutional Court.
"We had no choice but to file the challenge. Conditions did not exist for the election in Luanda (province) yesterday and they still do not exist today," Unita spokesman Adalberto da Costa said.
The government has denied any electoral wrongdoing.
Angola's electoral commission extended the voting into Saturday as a result of the problems. A spokesman for the commission said voting began at 320 polling stations yesterday morning.
Problems with voter registration lists were cited as the main cause of the delays, which were concentrated in Luanda province.
International observers expressed concern at the failure to provide the lists.
"The law was broken because the electoral registration was not distributed," Luisa Morgantini, who is leading a 120-member EU team, said. "We cannot say the process was done according to the rules."
Morgantini said Angola's election officials should consider meeting with international observers to discuss the problems.
Unita and other opposition parties have demanded that the poll be held again. Unita leader Isaias Samakuva described the process last Friday as a "mess" and it was not clear whether the voting extension would mollify his party.
Tensions between Unita (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) have simmered since the former rebel group ended its 27-year war against the state in 2002. In the run-up to the poll, Unita accused the MPLA of using state funds for its campaign and the state-run media to publicise its cause.Reuters
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