UPCOMING ELECTION:

  Presidential Elections : 2009

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• Voter registration
• International election observer missions
• Parties and coalitions registered for election
• Provisional results
  

Description of Electoral System:

The President of the Republic, who is Head of State and Government, is directly elected by an absolute majority in a secret, universal, adult ballot. The president is eligible for election for two five year terms.

Angola has a unicameral parliament with a four year term. The National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) has 223 seats elected by proportional representation; 130 members are elected from national lists, 3 members by Angolans living abroad and the 18 provinces each elect 5 members.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR ANGOLA? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Politics of Angola

Angolan independence from Portugal was the result of a protracted civil war (1961-1974) fought by four competing armed political movements; the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

The Portuguese government came to agreement with the three main parties (MPLA, FNLA, UNITA) to establish a joint transitional government in January 1975 in preparation for independence and elections. This never materialized, the Portuguese withdrew, and the country was plunged into civil war with the various sides supported by Cold War foreign backers. 

The end of the Cold War led to a negotiated settlement between the parties and elections for the Presidency and National Assembly were held. When it became evident to UNITA that the MPLA would win the elections, they returned to civil war, which continued until the death in battle of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in February 2002. On 4 April 2002 the Luena Memorandum of Understanding, was signed and by August UNITA had disbanded its military wing.

Previous election

DID YOU KNOW?

Current President José dos Santos has ruled Angola since 1979

In the 2008 National Assembly election the MPLA, led by José dos Santos won the election with 81.64% of the vote, while Isaias Samakuva's UNITA obtained 10.39%; the Social Renewal Party (SRP) under Eduardo Kuagana finished third with 3.17% and the balance went to 11 other parties (For more detail see 2008 National Assembly election provisional results).

In the 1992 presidential election dos Santos won 49.57% of the vote with Savimbi obtaining 40.07 and 9 other candidates shared the balance. Voter turnout was 91% (For more detail see 1992 election presidential results). According to the Angolan Constitution, since dos Santos did not obtain an absolute majority, the two leading candidates should have faced one another in a second round. This did not occur because Savimbi rejected the results as fraudulent and the civil war resumed.

Next election

The next Presidential election is due in 2009