Angola Update

Overview
After nearly 30 years of large-scale military conflict in Angola, dramatic changes have occurred over the last five years that have led to sustained peace in the country. The death of Jonas Savimbi, leader of the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), in February 2002, set in place a series of changes that led to a ceasefire agreement between the Angolan armed forces and the UNITA guerrillas in April 2002. In the years since the ceasefire, a number of important social and political changes have also occurred including the demobilization of armed combatants; the ability to move freely in the country; the formal transformation of UNITA into a political party and the public declaration of the ruling party, the Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA), to uphold the tenets of the peace agreement that include holding elections.

As Angola struggles to overcome its legacy of civil war and authoritarian rule, citizens continue to lack knowledge about the electoral process, fear that political activity is antagonistic to the reconciliation effort and that the next elections will spark a return to violence, and are concerned that the polls will not be conducted fairly. Five years after the ceasefire, elections have yet to be held and political space is relatively narrow. Parliamentary and presidential elections have been delayed several times and are currently slated for 2008 and 2009, respectively. Registration of an estimated 7.5 million eligible voters began in November of 2006 and continued through September of 2007.

NDI Programs in Angola
NDI has had a permanent presence in Angola since 1996 and has worked closely with local partners on civic education, advocacy and capacity building. Since 2002, NDI has worked to develop the capacity of civil society organizations to advocate for a more transparent and democratic electoral process, monitor election-related activities and help build the confidence of citizens to engage in the political process. In 2003, NDI conducted focus group research to provide civil society with a sense of citizens' perceptions relative to the elections (click here to read the report (PDF)). Based on the results of this research, NDI helped to establish electoral networks in each of Angola’s eighteen provinces. NDI subsequently assisted provincial networks to form the National Platform of Angolan Civil Society for Elections to coordinate their efforts.

These provincial networks have conducted community meetings which have provided civic education to hundreds of thousands of Angolans across the country, many of whom will be participating in an election for the first time. With support from NDI, provincial networks have been closely observing the voter registration process using tools developed by NDI. Observers have completed over 5,000 observations of registration centers around the country. On May 22, 2007, NDI assisted the National Platform in holding a Day of National Observation. Mirroring the advanced technology adopted by the Angolan government in the registration process, NDI helped the National Platform to develop a pilot scanned data system for the entry of observation forms into its database.