Electoral Process in Angola – World Countries for Kids

Angola has been governed by the same party since freedom, and authorities have very systematically supressed political dissent. Due process violations, corruption, and abuses by security forces remain common. Some restraints on the civil society and press were eased in 2017 after President JoãoLourenço took office, but that partial opening has since been reversed.

Electoral Process

There is no separate presidential election, either by voters or by the legislature. Under the 2010 constitution, the head of the national list of the political party receiving the most votes in legislative elections automatically becomes president without any parliamentary confirmation. The constitution authorises the president to unilaterally appoint and dismiss the vice president, provincial governors, and cabinet, among other key powers. The president might serve up to two five-year terms.

Intraparty procedures for selecting presidential candidates are not competitive. At a December 2021 congress of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), incumbent president JoãoLourenço received 98 percent of the votes from party delegates and was confirmed as the head of its 2022 electoral list; there was lack of other nominees. President Lourenço secured his second term after the MPLA was victorious in the August 2022 parliamentary elections.

Members of the 220-seat, unicameral National Assembly are elected by proportional representationto five-year terms. In the August 2022 elections, the MPLA got 51.2 percent of the vote and 124 seats, whereas the opposition National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and its coalition took 44 percent and 90 seats. Three smaller parties won the rest.

African Union observers said the elections were peaceful in general but noted restrictions on access-to-information rights and press freedom. NGOs found that biased pro-government media, the MPLA’s use of public resources, and deficiencies in voter-registration processes disadvantaged the opposition. The MPLA-controlled Constitutional Court dismissed an opposition grievance over the results one month after the elections. Opposition lawmakers occupied their seats but swore to continue questioning the results.

The law states that the makeup of the National Election Commission (CNE) should mirror the disposition of power in the National Assembly, which gives clear advantage to the MPLA. The Ministry of Territorial Administrationcarries out voter registration. The voter list was audited ahead of the 2022 elections, but stakeholders raised apprehensions about a lack of transparency in the auditing firm’s appointment and findings. The CNE is legally required to reveal voter lists for each polling station at least 30 days before Election Day but failed to conform in 2022.