Voting has begun in Angola in the first parliamentary elections for 16 years.

Although 14 parties are taking part, the contest is primarily between long-term rivals, the ruling MPLA party and opposition Unita party.

On the eve of the poll, the head of the country's electoral commission dismissed Unita's claims of unfair campaigning by MPLA.

The poor but oil-rich nation has been at peace for six years, when 27 years of conflict came to an end.

As the election got under way, people were reported to have begun queuing at polling stations in the capital, Angolan polls open for first vote in 16 years ...
Star-studded US overwhelm China ...
Balkan vice ...
Betancourt, 14 others freed by Colombian forces ... Luanda.

Some eight million voters are registered in the country - more than a quarter of whom live in the capital's very overcrowded conditions.

'Safeguarding peace'

The MPLA, which is the dominant political force in the country, is widely expected to win the election and consolidate its hold on power.

The party is using the poll as a dress rehearsal for next year's planned presidential election, the BBC's Peter Biles in Luanda says.

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has already been in power for nearly 30 years - longer than Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe.

In the lead up to the election, Unita accused the MPLA of intimidating its supporters and dominating state media.

Thursday was the first day in a week that the state newspaper Jornal de Angola carried no front-page picture of Mr Santos.

But Caetano de Sousa, head of Angola's electoral commission, said there had been a level playing field.

"The electoral campaign was carried out throughout the country under equal circumstances for all candidates," he said. said Mr de Sousa.

He warned the parties to accept the result, saying they had a "moral, social and political duty to safeguard the peace and stability".

These elections are an important move to consolidate democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, after the troubles in Kenya and Zimbabwe this year, our correspondent says.

Angola's last election in 1992 sparked the second phase of the country's 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002.

Will you be voting? What issues are influencing your vote? If you would be willing to speak to the BBC about your views and experiences, please include your number. It will not be published.

(BBC)

<< Back