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| Angola stops presidential polls | Angola stops presidential polls |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Angola's parliament has approved a new constitution which abolishes direct presidential elections. | Angola's parliament has approved a new constitution which abolishes direct presidential elections. |
| The head of state will now be nominated by the party with the majority in the parliament. | |
| The main opposition, Unita, boycotted the vote, accusing the government of trying to destroy democracy. | The main opposition, Unita, boycotted the vote, accusing the government of trying to destroy democracy. |
| President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been in power for more than three decades and the next polls are not expected until 2012. | President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been in power for more than three decades and the next polls are not expected until 2012. |
| The change was approved by 186 out of the 220 members of parliament. | The change was approved by 186 out of the 220 members of parliament. |
| The oil-rich nation is recovering from a long civil war which ended in 2002. | |
| The BBC's Louise Redvers in Angola says the vote on the new constitution - which also declares Portuguese the national language and Luanda the capital - was not expected until March. | |
| Angola is currently hosting the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament and some say the government deliberately rushed through the vote in a bid to avoid wider public debate, she reports. |