We should recall that the term “Angolagate”, also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair, refers to a political scandal that dates back to 1992, when José Eduardo dos Santos realised his military disadvantage against Jonas Savimbi's UNITA, which at the time had gained more than 80% of Angolan territory. Facing this situation, the Angolan president chose to break the United Nations sanctions prohibiting arms trading to which Angola was subject, and acquired more than 400 tanks, around 150,000 shells, more than 100,000 anti-personnel mines, around a dozen helicopters, a handful of warships and other weapons originally from the former Soviet Union.

The arms sales cost around $790m, and were made through a Paris-based consortium of companies named  Brenco International. Its head, Pierre Falcone, and Israeli politician Arkadi Gaydamak were major players in facilitating this whole mission and are now in the dock. Altogether, 40 other defendants, some of whom are high profile members of France’s political establishment, are to go on trial and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The trial began last Monday, October 6th, and investigations should last until March 4th next year. In this first week, there has been very little reaction on the Angolan blogosphere, and the media is also quiet.

One of the few bloggers to comment on the issue, Roberto Ivens from Nos Cus de Judas blog [pt] reveals an unusual fact regarding the absence of Angolan defendants in this process:

“Não haver neste processo um único arguido angolano não deixa de ser curioso. Que todo o material de guerra, tanques, navios, helicópteros, obuzes, minas, tivesse entrado em Angola sem que ninguém o houvesse solicitado faz pensar que, afinal, poderá ter havido uma..invasão estrangeira?!”

The French justice also accuses Jean-Christophe Miterrand, son of the former late president Miterrand, former French Socialist Party Southern Africa expert Jean-Bernard Curial and Charles Pasqua, the former Interior Minister, among others. Moçambique para Todos [pt] blog also joins the “Angolate” talks with an article by Angolan Eugénio Costa Almeida:

“Pois então não é que a justiça francesa, sem tomar em linha de conta os superiores interesses da República Francesa, decidiu iniciar o julgamento deste processo, com acusações que vão desde tráfico de armas, abuso de confiança, fraude fiscal e tráfico de influências. Tudo por causa de uns míseros 420 carros de combate, 150 mil obuses, 170 minas anti-pessoais, 12 helicópetros e 6 navios de guerra, eventualmente comprados por Angola e para os quais uns quantos auferiram umas míseras dezenas de milhares de dólares em “luvas”. Gingubas ou peanuts, como diriam os nossos amigos norte-americanos, eventualmente depositadas em contas obscuras em empresas, cidades francesas, suíças ou israelitas, antes de seguir para as de companhias e empresas financeiras sedeads em paraísos fiscais onde o dinheiro “adormece” por uns tempos antes de voltar a circular…é que parar é morrer, e há tantas quintas e palácios na Europa para serem comprados”.

As expected, Angola denies wrongdoing and rejects the accusations of illegal arms trafficking and tax evasion, saying that the material was legal, was not of French origin and did not pass through France. The Angolan authorities threaten to retaliate against France on the country's oil interests.

This trial comes at a bad time for the country, as France has tried to forge closer relations with the Angolan government since the beginning of the year. Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Angola five months ago being evidence of this.

There are over 70,000 foreigners living in Angola, half of whom have work permits and are mostly Brazilian, Chinese, Cuban and Portuguese people. From Africa, there are also citizens coming from Congo, Mauritania, Mali, among other countries.

Portugal surely leads the way in the immigration field. Just to give you an idea, by the end of 2007 nearly 60,000 luso-souls had entered the country. This is a considerable amount which exposes the historical and affective ties that unite Angola and Portugal.

However, the Chinese make up an already considerable number in the country. They devote themselves mainly to the construction industry and are known to work hours on end, under sun or rain. In a letter in the ‘The world seen by the readers' column, in Pedro Doria's blog, Angolan Caco writes:

“Os chineses foram os últimos a desembarcar por aqui, mas já formam o maior contingente. Ninguém sabe ao certo, mas dizem que são mais de 600.000 deles espalhados pelo país – dá algo como 3% da população. Trabalhando em turnos que causam inveja pela velocidade das obras e disposição para trabalhar 24 horas por dia e sete dias por semana. E num fenómeno inesperado começaram a integrar-se na sociedade de forma tão forte que a primeira geração de crianças sino-angolanas já começa a dar seus passos. Os chineses começam a tomar um espaço no coração das angolanas que até agora era dos brasileiros”.

What is the Angolans' reaction to this mass of people coming from abroad? And how do foreigners deal with coming to this former Portuguese colony?

Brazilian António Spíndola, who was born in Recife and writes on his Spíndola Blog, talks a little about this subject:

“Recebo muitos e-mails perguntando como é a vida em Angola. Em sua maioria são pessoas pensando em vir trabalhar aqui que desejam ou já foram convidadas. Angola é vista como o novo eldorado para os profissionais do Brasil. A ideia que se tem são bons salários e novas aventuras. Entretanto, na teoria a prática é diferente! Há bons salários sim, mas há uma série de dificuldades que se precisa transpor.”

One of these difficulties is getting a visa. The government puts up serious obstacles to the issuing of leave to remain and the whole process is very slow. Discouraging obtaining visas ultimately leads to illegal residence. It is important to streamline the bureaucracy and give the green light to foreigners wishing to settle on Angolan soil. We need to view the majority of these international citizens as a qualified labor force. As people capable of contributing to the development of a country that for 30 years was deep at war.

The O Lado Negro [Dark Side, pt] blog confirms the mishaps experienced when trying to obtain a visa:

“A minha esposa criou uma empresa em Angola e fomos para lá morar em 2006. Depois de lá estar voltei a Portugal para tratar de todos os documentos que a lei angolana exige para legalizar a minha residência naquele país. Mal empregado tempo que perdi e dinheiro que gastei, note-se que vir a Portugal tratar dos documentos e o que paguei no consulado do Porto para meter esses papéis, ultrapassou os 2500 dólares, mas para nada pois até hoje nem me deram uma resposta em Angola na DEFA (Direcção de Emigração e Fronteiras de Angola). Nem em Portugal no consulado me deram resposta, apenas o funcionário do consulado me disse: - o que o senhor quer, eu também estou em Portugal há 2 anos e só tive a minha residência há pouco. Depois de correr para a DEFA montes de vezes a tentar saber do meu caso sem nunca me dizerem o que se passava, resolvi meter uma reclamação por escrito. Acreditem que nem resposta me deram apesar da minha insistência.”

There are three main areas where professional people coming to Angola find work: medicine, construction and education. Some of them come to give training, others to work in the long term.

Most Angolan people do not see the arrival of foreigners in a good light. They believe it will lead to  economic, professional and cultural damage to themselves. There is also the opinion that foreigners in Angola don't behave appropriately. Desabafos Angolanos [Angolan Disencumbering, pt] confirms this:

“Sou angolana de nascimento, vivi 20 anos em Angola e esse é um país que eu amo e nunca sairá do meu coração. Não gosto de ouvir falar mal do meu país e muito menos do seu povo. Incomoda-me, irrita-me. Não consigo perceber as pessoas que só vão trabalhar para Angola por causa do dinheiro. Não gostam do seu povo, das suas gentes e só são simpáticas e cordiais para angariar simpatia. Essa simpatia chega ao ponto de abrir as portas de sua casa para ganhar confiança. Falam constantemente em corruptos e na facilidade em corromper. Quero ouvir falar bem do país onde nasci, cresci e fui feliz.”

Originally written in Portuguese, translation into English by Paula Góes

A quick look around shows a significant number of luxury estates, properly furnished flats in glass buildings with access to garages, gyms and swimming pools that seem to have come from a magic wand. And despite the ridiculously high prices - around a million dollars and sometimes over - developers know well in advance, even before the inauguration of the buildings, that there will be many buyers.

It is obvious those who buy in these developments are upper class individuals; people connected to power or foreign companies which buy and then set up guest houses for their employees. It is also obvious that the low and middle classes find themselves excluded from the possibility of acquiring housing like these.

“Luanda Buildings”, photo by Flickr's user wilsonbentos published under a Creative Commons license

The big issue in all this is the fact that there are no places that meet the financial possibilities of most of the population. And the few existing ones leave much to be desired because of the poor quality of construction materials. Cazimar, from the Africa Minha [pt] blog, illustrates this situation well :

“Começa-se a levantar o véu sobre a polémica da especulação imobiliária em Angola e os seus respectivos destinatários interessados neste negócio, quer sejam vendedores, compradores, investidores ou banca e etc. Este tipo de negócio interessará a quem? Certamente que não interessará à maioria do cidadão angolano de baixos rendimentos, porque esses pobres coitados por enquanto só podem sonhar com uma habitação made in China de duvidosa qualidade (marketing eleitoral) ou com a compra ou aluguer de uma cubata num dos musseques (bairro de lata ou favela) mais luxuosos e povoados, situados privilegiadamente ao redor e na parte central da cidade de Luanda. No entanto a localização destes musseques também começa a sofrer a cobiça pelos terrenos por parte dos grandes grupos imobiliários, alguns deles apoiados por pessoal com forte influência junto do poder central e das decisões. Refiro-me aos generais, ministros e respectivos familiares. A maioria dos familiares desta corja sugadora, são os principais responsáveis ou accionistas das empresas envolvidas em grandes projectos de construção imobiliária. Cabendo aos generais e aos outros membros o papel de exercerem influências internamente nos organismos a quem cabe a responsabilidade de supervisionar e administrar esses terrenos e locais. Na maioria das vezes, o cidadão comum (pobre) que vive nesses terrenos é expropriado sem direito a contrapartidas, sendo posteriormente os terrenos vendidos a preços exorbitantes aos interessados na sua compra, com avultadas comissões (gasosa = suborno) aos intervenientes que facilitaram o seu desbloqueamento e expropriação.
Eles (corja) estão sempre a “mamar e a sacar” dependendo dos objectivos de cada um. Tudo isto é facilitado pela falta de legislação adequada e que tarda em aparecer por impedimento da corja envolvida na corrupção do negócio imobiliário de luxo para Angola e para a cidade de Luanda”.

“The veil drawn over the controversy of property speculation in Angola and the respective parties interested in this business, such as sellers, buyers, investors or banks, starts to come off. Who is interested in this type of business? Certainly, it is not the interest of the majority of the Angolan citizens with low income, because for now these poor things can only dream of a dwelling made in China of dubious quality (electoral marketing) or of the purchase or rental of a hut in more luxurious musseques (shantytowns) and villages, located mainly around and in the center of Luanda city. However, because of their location, these musseques also begin to suffer from the greed for land of large property groups, some supported by staff who have a strong influence on central power and decisions. I refer to the generals, ministers and their families. Most of this suckling rabble's families are primarily responsible for, or are shareholders of, companies involved in major construction developments. The generals and the other family members have the role of exercising inside influence on the bodies responsible for supervising and administering land and spaces. In most cases, ordinary people (the poor) living on such land are expropriated without the right to return, after which the land is sold at exorbitant prices to those interested in its purchase, with large commissions (bribery) for the actors that facilitated its release and expropriation.
They (the rabble) are always 'suckling and withdrawing' depending on their own objectives. All this is facilitated by a lack of appropriate legislation which is slow to appear due to obstacles imposed by the rabble involved in the business of building luxury for Angola and for the city of Luanda”

“Luanda is like this”, photo by Moisés Nazário, Flickr user Moises.on published under a Creative Commons license

Yet it seems that things have started to change now that the Government intends to implement, in the short term, measures to combat property speculation with a special emphasis on Luanda. It should be noted that other provinces in the country have not suffered from this speculation. In an interview with Jornal de Angola, the Deputy Minister of Urban Planning and Environment said that “the level of speculation in real estate prices in Luanda is very worrying and makes the lives of poor citizens even harder. The fight is through legal mechanisms that protect citizens from the speculation that takes place in the housing market in the capital and also in a program for encouraging housing so that all citizens have access to appropriate housing at lower prices.”

Gil Gonçalves, from the Universal blog [pt], summarizes the situation in which most Angolans live in the face of property speculation.

“Os especuladores imobiliários por onde passam, corrompem governos, titanicam nações. Conseguem corromper um centímetro de terra e lá construírem um minimercado. Se não acabarmos com os especuladores imobiliários, eles acabarão connosco”.

“Wherever they go, the real estate speculators corrupt governments, bully nations. They manage to corrupt one centimeter of land and then build a corner shop. If we don't finish off the real estate speculators, they will finish us off.”

Another major problem experienced by Angolans is the rent market. Each landlord uses a price table of his own prices and their imagination knows no bounds. Prices vary between two thousand and ten thousand dollars and these values do not always match the quality of the house. Most of the time there are houses with only one bedroom with no hydraulic pump or power generator. And in the vast majority of cases, landlords sign a contract with tenants and they are the first not comply, apart from requiring six months or one year's rent in advance.

“Angola2″, photo by Flickr's user kaysha published under a Creative Commons license

It is high time we had a law that forced landlords to respect drawn-up contracts and established price lists among others. It is also necessary that the Consumer Association is heard and acts accordingly. While this doesn't happen, Angolans are left subject to this implacable reality. Angola For my Family and my Friends blog [pt] certifies this:

“O aluguer das casas é muito elevado e ainda são infra-estruturas de pouca oferta. Das duas uma, ou o pacote de trabalho (para estrangeiros) inclui casa ou o teu rendimento tem de sustentar essa condição. As rendas podem ir de 2000/3000 dólares até onde o pensamento te deixar ir. A mais cara que vi, pediam 15.000 dólares por mês, mas sabe-se de condomínios que chegam a pedir 25.000. Tendo sempre em conta a particularidade comum em pagar sempre os primeiros seis meses ou o primeiro ano de arrendamento na sua totalidade.”

The rent prices are very high and there is little offer of a sound infrastructure. It is either the work package (for foreigners) including home or your income has to be enough to pay for it. Rents can go from [US]$2,000/3,000 to wherever your imagination takes you to. In the most expensive I saw, they were asking [US]$15,000 a month, but it is known there are estates for which they ask [US]$25,000. Bearing in mind the particularity common practice of having to pay the first six months or the first year of rent in full.

“Balance”, photo of Mártires do Kifangondo neighborhood of Luanda by Flickr's user elisa vaz published in this piece with the photographer's permission

There are two very interesting videos on the subject on YouTube. The first one, by user Diogobezerra6, is a collage of pictures of new buildings and developments called The New Luanda. The second is a video response to this, a videoclip for the song “Monangambê” by “Luanda Dread Band”, with footage from user INESAAODH's rides through another side of the city.

Originally written in Portuguese, translation into English by Paula Góes

This means that the MPLA makes 191 of the 220 elected Members of Parliament, while UNITA will have 16, PRS 8 and the ND and FNLA both will have 2 seats (click here for a full list of those elected, by region). Jorge Santos from Leste de Angola [pt] was among the first bloggers announcing the following results:

MPLA - 5.266.216 ( 81,64%)
UNITA - 670.363 (10,39%)
PRS - 204.746 (3,17%)
ND - 77.141 (1,20%)
FNLA - 71.416 (1,11%)
PDP-ANA - 32.952 (0,51%)
PLD - 21.341 (0,33 porcento)
AD Coligação - 18.977 (0,29%)
PADEPA – 17.509 (0,27%)
FPD - 17.073 (0,26%)
PAJOCA – 15.535 (0,24%)
PRD – 14.238 (0,22%)
PPE – 12.052 (0,19%)
FOFAC - 10.858 (0,19%)

Camara de Comuns [pt] publishes an analysis from reader Rui Miguel Menezes Vaz, who lives in Bié, one of the most battered provinces during the war. He explains why he believes the results were for the better:

Não é preciso ir muito longe e perceber que o MPLA, mesmo sendo um partido manipulador e dominador, era a única saída para a estabilidade. A UNITA não apresentou uma única vez um quadro, ao nível de governação, capaz de mover forças. Alias, os únicos que teriam capacidade de liderar excluíram-se destas eleições e o povo não esquece o passado. Durante o período eleitoral é facilmente constatável que o MPLA tinha muito mais direito de antena e muito mais protagonismo. Mas não foi esse o partido que levou este pais a evoluir e atrair o investimento todo em Angola?

There is no need to go very far to realize that the MPLA, even if a manipulative and dominating party, was the only way to stability. UNITA had not once presented a framework at the level of government, capable of moving forces. Moreover, the only ones able to lead were excluded from these elections and people did not forget the past. During the election period it was easily observed that the MPLA had more rights to air time and more prominence. But wasn't it this party that led the country to evolve and Angola to attract all this investment?

Carlos Lopes [pt] commented on what this result means to the opposing party UNITA, which lost more than 50 of its seats, saying that “worse than losing the war was losing the elections”. He said the results in Luanda at least were surprising:

Não foi se quer, o problema da mensagem da «mudança», que era bem aceite e «colava» nos ouvidos do eleitor, mas antes, um sério problema de avaliação do potencial do eleitorado em termos de resultado, ou seja, a quantidade de votos que o partido iria recolher nessa Província, Município e Comuna. Os dirigentes fizeram-se a estrada e apostaram em locais, cujos eleitores não corresponderam a expectativa criada, porque aqueles que dirigiram a campanha da UNITA, com base em dados pouco fiáveis e alguns inexistentes, não conseguiram colmatar as falhas que apareciam, muitas vezes por desconhecimento

The problem was not even the message of ‘change', which was well accepted and 'stuck' in the voters' ears, but rather a serious problem of assessing the potential of the electorate in terms of outcome, that's to say the amount of votes that the party would gather in that province, municipality and commune. The leaders have invested and bet in places where voters did not match the expectations created, because those who directed the UNITA campaign, based on unreliable and some non-existent data, failed to bridge the gaps that appeared, often out of ignorance

Luciano Canhanga [pt] analyses the situation for smaller parties which didn't get much confidence from the polls and now are at risk:

Dos partidos concorrentes às eleições e que não conseguiram acentos, apenas o PDP_ANA se livra da extinção compulsiva, já que conseguiu tangencialmente transpor os 0,5% da votação geral exigida por lei. Os que não concorreram ficam obrigados a concorrer em 2012, sob pena de extinção. (…) E que dizer de formações como o PRD, PPE e FOCAC que dizem ter conseguido as 15 mil assinaturas com que se habilitaram à corrida, mas que findo o escrutínio acabaram com menos de 15 mil votos?

Out of the competing parties that failed to get seats, only the PDP_ANA is free of compulsory extinction, as it tangentially managed to get the 0.5% of the general votes required by law. Those who did not run this time must compete in 2012, under threat of extinction. (…) And what about parties such as the PRD, PPE and FOCAC which claim to have achieved the 15 thousand signatures that enabled them to compete in the race, but that after the ballot ended with less than 15 thousand votes?

Koluki [pt] publishes a link to the Human Rights Watch report ‘Angola: Irregularities Marred Historic Elections', published last September 15 highlighting that there was ‘no independent oversight, media bias'. She provides her own observations on the document, and concludes:

Em suma, e’ minha conviccao que os resultados eleitorais nao sao determinados apenas durante a campanha eleitoral ou no dia das eleicoes, elas sao determinadas ao longo de anos pelos eleitores que acumulam as experiencias de vida que acabam por ditar as suas decisoes de voto, por muito que, infelizmente, o processo eleitoral nao decorra de forma tao transparente quanto todos desejariamos, a bem dos proprios eleitores, ou seja, do povo e da nacao.

In short, I believe that the election results are not determined only during the election campaigning or on the election day, they are determined over years by voters who gather life experience that ultimately dictate their voting decisions, although, unfortunately, the electoral process does not happen in so transparent a way as we wished, for the sake of the voters themselves, who is to say the people and nation.

The September 5 election was the first since 2002, when the 27-year civil war fought between then rival factions MPLA and UNITA came to an end. Angolans will choose a president next year.
.

Photo by Flicrk user KaLuany, who voted for the first time last September 05.

At last Angola went to the polls last Friday September 05. The electorate attended the polling stations in an orderly way and provided their votes hoping for a better future for the country. After sixteen years, Angolans had waited for this historic moment with excitement and some fear. Soba L [pt] says voting was as he had always dreamed:

“Esperei por este dia com muita ansiedade e curiosidade pois sabia que era um dia especial para Angola e para os angolanos. Durante muitos anos o nosso dia-a-dia foi marcado pela tristeza da guerra. Uma guerra que ceifava vidas, destruía bens e consumia grande parte dos nossos recursos e energias. Finalmente estamos na presença de um acontecimento histórico. Os angolanos ansiavam desde há muito tempo pela chegada deste momento de paz e certeza no futuro. Um novo cenário já se vislumbra no nosso horizonte. Começamos a sentir os primeiros efeitos benéficos da paz porque ela já se manifesta na sua dimensão humana”.

“I waited for this day with great anxiety and curiosity because I knew it was a special day for Angola and Angolans. For many years our daily lives had been marked by the sadness of war. A war that claimed lives, destroyed property and consumed much of our resources and energy. At last we face a historic event. Angolans have long yearned for the arrival of this moment of peace and certainty in the future. A new scenario is unfolding already in our horizon. We start to feel the first benefits of peace because it has already manifested itself in its human dimension.”

“Due to delays incurred during the first day of voting it was decided to keep a number of polling stations in Luanda open for a second day of voting. UNITA, the main opposition party immediately cried foul”, says Flicrk user Sam.Seyffert on this picture's caption

On the eve of voting life got exciting. Traumatized by the events of 1992, when the the guerrilla war was resumed after the election results were rejected by the Unita leader Jonas Savimbi, Angolans rushed to large shopping areas to buy staple goods, despite appeals made by the government in order to counteract this trend. However, in spite of a few hitches caused by a lack of organization, the election process has had a positive outcome, according to Angola's National Electoral Commission's chairman, Caetano de Sousa. Carlos Lopes [pt] reports on the situation on September 05:

“Apesar de todas as situações anómalas que ocorreram em algumas assembleias de voto, umas que abriram com atrasos de horas de manhã e à tarde, outras que nem sequer abriram, noutras falharam os boletins de voto ou cadernos eleitorais, o presidente da Comissão Nacional Eleitoral (CNE) garantiu que o processo de votação decorreu em todo o país com “normalidade” e observância das regras estabelecidas para as legislativas. Surpreendentemente admitia a possibilidade da divulgação dos primeiros resultados parciais, ao anoitecer. Mas depois lá aceitou os atrasos de abertura de algumas assembleias em Luanda, devido a problemas operacionais e que as coisas iam melhorando com o decorrer do tempo. Para o Dr. Caetano de Sousa, o problema de Luanda é ter muita gente e pouca fluidez no trânsito, algo que todos os luandenses sabem. A solução de recurso que foi encontrada, foi adiantar a hora do fecho das assembleias e com isso, já algumas funcionam com velas porque os conhecidos cortes de energia eléctrica estão a acontecer e alguém esqueceu-se de levar o gerador. Na Huíla e Cabinda, também tiveram algumas assembleias a serem abertas com atraso.”

“Despite all the problems that some polling stations faced, with hours of delays in the opening in the morning in some places while others did not open even in the afternoon, and ballot papers and electoral rolls missing from some places, the chairman of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) said that voting took place with “normality” and in compliance with the rules established by the legislation throughout the country. He surprisingly admitted the possibility of disclosing the first partial results in the evening. But then he admitted the delays in opening some polling stations in Luanda because of logistical problems and said things were improving over time. According to Mr. Caetano de Sousa, Luanda's problem is having a lot of people and poor traffic flow, something all Luandaners know. The solution found was to extend closing hours and for that, some of them are working by candle light because of the known ongoing power cuts and someone having forgotten to bring a power generator. In Huila and Cabinda, there were also some delayed openings of polling stations.”

“Long lines of voters still waiting for the poll booths to open, some since 04:00″, says Flickr user Sam.Seyffert

Due to the problems caused by lack of organization, Luanda was entitled to another voting day. The results will take at least a week to be announced, since the CNE does not have a digital vote counting system. Partial results show that the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) is ahead with 81% of the votes, followed by UNITA with 10%. Blog Mesumajik Uka [pt] makes the following analysis of the electoral results:

“Fomos às urnas e votamos. Escolhemos quem nos merece. Os números falam por si. Houve constrangimentos em Luanda e noutros locais de diversas províncias, como a falta de boletins de voto ou de envelopes para os votos especiais. São constrangimentos que afectaram todas as formações concorrentes e não apenas uns. Por isso se houve lisura houve para todos. Quem está de parabéns somos nós, os angolanos que dissemos sim ao voto massivo. O MPLA tem uma maioria absoluta do seu trabalho governativo e do convencimento do eleitorado ao longo da campanha política. O grande perdedor destas eleições é sobretudo a UNITA que fica com menos de 50 deputados em relação à cessante legislatura. Perdeu também o PLD e todos os demais partidos que ficam abaixo dos resultados de 1992.”

“We went to the polls and voted. We chose who deserves us. The numbers speak for themselves. There were constraints in Luanda and in various provinces elsewhere, such as a lack of ballots or envelopes for special votes*. These are constraints that have affected all the candidates, not just some of them. Therefore if it was fair, it was fair for all. The people are the ones to be congratulated, us Angolans who said yes to massive voting. The MPLA has an absolute majority because of the work of the government and for convincing the electorate during the political campaign. The UNITA is a particularly big loser in these elections, and will have less than 50 members compared to the last legislature. The PLD has also lost out and so have all other parties which are below the 1992 results.”

[* Translator's note: There were “special” ballot boxes, created for voters who registered according to their identity documents instead of where they lived, including some millions who fled the countryside during the 27‑year civil war to Luanda.]

The UNITA has publicly challenged the results and lodged a counting contestation with the National Electoral Commission (CNE). Their attitude has brought some fear to Angolans. However, Isaias Samakuva, UNITA's leader, last night admitted their defeat in the parliamentary elections. He declared that “it is not about contesting the election results but seeking the fairness and integrity of the process. Facts indicate that the final results of this election do not reflect the will expressed in the polls. Whatever the outcome, Angolans have gained greater awareness and life goes on”.

The will was huge… “but conditions in the polling stations were, in general, terrible”, photo by Flickr user Kool2bBop.

With more than 70 percent of the electoral colleges processed by now and the main Angolan political group seemingly set to be elected by overwhelming majority, Angola Sempre [pt] wonders what percentage of absenteeism there was and why it has not been announced. He outlines the challenges ahead:

“Cabe a árdua tarefa ao Presidente do MPLA, de «escolher a dedo», os melhores entre os melhores, que governarão o país nos próximos quatro anos.
A «luta para o poleiro» está do lado do MPLA e os outros partidos com assento na Assembleia Nacional, vão « assistir de bancada» o bom ou mau desempenho do governo do MPLA, apresentando novas proposta de lei, que consideram mais adequadas a melhoria da vida dos Angolanos, cabendo ao MPLA votá-las favoravelmente ou não, ou fazendo pior, meter na gaveta, como várias vezes fez aos projectos de Lei da UNITA. Mas também há uma nobre tarefa da oposição na Assembleia Nacional, que é o de fiscalizar a acção do governo do MPLA. Os Angolanos têm esperança que a sua vida vai ser mais digna, porque se isso não acontecer, no próximo pleito eleitoral, e não vai demorar muito, irá ser feito um balanço, cujo resultado vai ser apresentado no voto do eleitor.”

“It is a difficult task for the MPLA President, to “cherry-pick” the best among the best, who will govern the country over the next four years.
The ‘fight for the perch' is on the MPLA's side and the other parties with National Assembly seats, will “assist from the bench” an MPLA government's good or bad performance, presenting new bills which they consider more appropriate to improve Angolans' lives, having the MPLA in place to approve them or not, or worse, archive them, as they did several times to UNITA's bills. But there is also the noble task of opposition in the National Assembly, which is to supervise the MPLA's government. Angolans hope that their lives will be more dignified, because if not, in the next elections, and these will not take long [to come], there will be an appraisal whose outcome will be made in the vote.”

“MPLA's Samba Municipal office in campaign style”, photo and caption by Flicrk user Sam.Seyffert

Originally written in Portuguese, translation into English by Paula Góes

As reactions start to appear on the blogosphere, a full report is on its way. For now here are some pictures showing the run up to the historic day, registered by José Manuel Lima da Silva, Flickr user Kool2bBop, along with his own remarks:

Unidade Nacional. Angola está a provar ao mundo que, apesar das diferenças, é um povo UNIDO.
UM SÓ POVO, UMA SÓ NAÇÃO.
Esperemos que tudo acabe como até aqui! - civismo

“National Unity. Angola is showing the world that, despite differences, it has a united people. One people, one nation. We hope it will be like this in the end - public spirit!”

There are many more pictures of the actual big day at Tiago Sousa's and Sam.Seyffert's flickr galleries.

Around 8.3 million people have registered to vote, choosing from among over 5,000 candidates from 10 parties and four coalitions. There are in total 220 parliamentary seats.