Angola's ruling party claims victory

The MPLA predicts a victory in Angola's chaotic election despite opposition attempts to have the result cancelled.

An Angolan polling station agent signals a vote on a cast ballot as they start counting at a polling station in Samba, downtown Luanda on September 6, 2008. Over eight million Angolans voted yesterday to elect the parliament for the second time since their independence from Portugal in 11 September 1975.Show less

Angola's ruling party claimed victory today in the oil-rich nation's chaotic landmark election despite opposition attempts to have the result cancelled. The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, in power for more than 30 years, predicted a sweeping victory after polls closed late yesterday. Voting in the first election since the end of a three-decade long civil war was extended because of delays and a lack of election registers in many polling stations. An African observer mission said the vote had been credible but an EU mission delayed giving a verdict.

"We are going to win big time," said the MPLA spokesman Rui Falcao. "The victory is not in question, only whether we get the numbers required." Partial official results released by the electoral agency late yesterday, local time, indicated an early lead for the MPLA. With 35 per cent of votes counted from across the country, MPLA won by 81.7 per cent followed by Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) with 10.5 per cent.

MPLA is winning in most provinces, including UNITA's former stronghold of central and southern provinces, including Huambo, Bie and Benguela. UNITA is trailing the MPLA in 14 of 18 provinces. The opposition group ? the MPLA's main foe during the civil war which left 500,000 dead ? called on Angola's Constitutional court to annul the vote. It said the delays and lack of ballot material had rendered the vote "illegal". UNITA has also accused the ruling party of misused state funds and monopolising the media during the campaign.

Alceides Sakala, head of UNITA's parliamentary group, said: "As far as Luanda is concerned, it was a scandal, the way it was organised." Despite the confusion Angolans turned out in force to vote for the first time since fighting ended in 2002. The electoral commission reported a high turnout but did not give a figure. International observers gave cautious approval. Monitors from the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) group said the vote was "peaceful, free, transparent and credible" and reflected "the will of the people".

But it said delays and procedural glitches could have put off many voters. The head of the European Union observer mission, who on Friday morning called the voting process a "disaster", was more circumspect. "There have been problems and they're trying to change them," Luisa Morgantini said. "We'll see what will happen." The EU mission said it would delay its official report on the elections until Monday.

*AFP