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| Angola election begins amid complaints of irregularities | Angola election begins amid complaints of irregularities |
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| Voting is under way in Angola's election, the third in the country's history, as authorities brush aside complaints over irregularities, lack of transparency and a result seen as a foregone conclusion. | Voting is under way in Angola's election, the third in the country's history, as authorities brush aside complaints over irregularities, lack of transparency and a result seen as a foregone conclusion. |
| Polling stations were due to open at 7am but delays of at least an hour in some cases angered voters who had been queuing since dawn. It was also reported that thousands of Angolans were uncertain about where to vote or could not find their names on official lists. | Polling stations were due to open at 7am but delays of at least an hour in some cases angered voters who had been queuing since dawn. It was also reported that thousands of Angolans were uncertain about where to vote or could not find their names on official lists. |
| The dominant Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, is predicted to win comfortably. This would give the president, José Eduardo dos Santos, who at 33 years is the second longest serving leader in Africa (and third in the world by some measures), another five-year term. | The dominant Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, is predicted to win comfortably. This would give the president, José Eduardo dos Santos, who at 33 years is the second longest serving leader in Africa (and third in the world by some measures), another five-year term. |
| The main opposition party, Unita, has raised concern about a lack of transparency, in particular the failure to make a full voters' roll publicly available. But its call for the election to be postponed was ignored. Police arrested several opposition members on Thursday after they tried to enter the electoral commission building to demand credentials to observe the vote at polling stations. | The main opposition party, Unita, has raised concern about a lack of transparency, in particular the failure to make a full voters' roll publicly available. But its call for the election to be postponed was ignored. Police arrested several opposition members on Thursday after they tried to enter the electoral commission building to demand credentials to observe the vote at polling stations. |
| A decade after the end of a devastating 27-year civil war, Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest oil producer and third biggest economy. But critics accuse Dos Santos of internal repression, enriching his family while millions languish in poverty and merely paying lip service to democracy. His election campaign enjoyed all the usual advantages of incumbency and state media is loaded in his favour. | A decade after the end of a devastating 27-year civil war, Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest oil producer and third biggest economy. But critics accuse Dos Santos of internal repression, enriching his family while millions languish in poverty and merely paying lip service to democracy. His election campaign enjoyed all the usual advantages of incumbency and state media is loaded in his favour. |
| Marcolino Moco, a former MPLA prime minister who fell out with Dos Santos, said: "The way he is ruling the country, it is not possible to have normal elections because he controls everything: communications, oil, money, people. | Marcolino Moco, a former MPLA prime minister who fell out with Dos Santos, said: "The way he is ruling the country, it is not possible to have normal elections because he controls everything: communications, oil, money, people. |
| "It is worse than the elections in 2008 and even 1992. Today Dos Santos is openly doing these things. The observers are saying everything is OK but my God, everything is not OK." | "It is worse than the elections in 2008 and even 1992. Today Dos Santos is openly doing these things. The observers are saying everything is OK but my God, everything is not OK." |
| Concerns have been raised over a lack of external monitoring of the election. The European Union has provided a handful of observers but could not afford the expense of a full mission. | Concerns have been raised over a lack of external monitoring of the election. The European Union has provided a handful of observers but could not afford the expense of a full mission. |
| Rafael Marques de Morais, a journalist and anti-corruption activist, said there "is no slight chance" of a free and fair election, pointing to several irregularities identified in a pre-election audit. "The whole system is just fraudulent. The national election commission is totally useless. It doesn't have a say. It's just a formality." | Rafael Marques de Morais, a journalist and anti-corruption activist, said there "is no slight chance" of a free and fair election, pointing to several irregularities identified in a pre-election audit. "The whole system is just fraudulent. The national election commission is totally useless. It doesn't have a say. It's just a formality." |
| There has also been violence and intimidation in traditional Unita strongholds, he added, pointing to a photo of a Unita supporter attacked by a machete last week. "His crime? He raised a Unita flag in his village. Fifteen homes were burned and they lost all their belongings. This happens every single day." | There has also been violence and intimidation in traditional Unita strongholds, he added, pointing to a photo of a Unita supporter attacked by a machete last week. "His crime? He raised a Unita flag in his village. Fifteen homes were burned and they lost all their belongings. This happens every single day." |
| Some 9.7 million voters are registered to elect 220 MPs. The MPLA holds 191 national assembly seats after it won 2008 elections in a landslide. Unita won 10% of votes and 16 seats. Unita is hoping to pick up a bigger share from those who complain about a lack of democracy and inequalities of wealth. | Some 9.7 million voters are registered to elect 220 MPs. The MPLA holds 191 national assembly seats after it won 2008 elections in a landslide. Unita won 10% of votes and 16 seats. Unita is hoping to pick up a bigger share from those who complain about a lack of democracy and inequalities of wealth. |
| Dos Santos, who turned 70 this week, has never been directly elected and that will not change. Last year, the government changed the constitution so that the number one candidate of the winning party in parliament automatically becomes president. | Dos Santos, who turned 70 this week, has never been directly elected and that will not change. Last year, the government changed the constitution so that the number one candidate of the winning party in parliament automatically becomes president. |
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