Angola and Angolan News

  
Country Profile
Angola officially the Republic of Angola is a country in southern Africa.Angola is divided into 18 Provinces and 163 Municipalities.
Capital                                  Luanda
Currency                               Kwanza
Official Language                   Portuguese
Population                             20 Million (2011 Estimate)

History
Angolan War of Independence (1961–1975)
The Angolan War of Independence (1961–1975) began as an uprising against forced cotton cultivation, and became a multi-faction struggle for control of Portugal's Overseas Province of Angola among three nationalist movements and a separatist movement. The war ended in 1975 when the Portuguese government, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola(UNITA), the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola(FNLA) signed the Alvor Agreement on Jan 15,1975 granting Angola independence on Nov 11,1975 and establishing a transitional government.

Politics and Government
Angola is a Presidential Republic where the President is both the Head of State and Head of Govt.The 2010 constitution grants the President almost absolute power. Elections for the National assembly are to take place every five years, and the President is automatically the leader of the winning party or coalition.
President of Angola

José Eduardo dos Santos is the current President of Angola in office from Sep 10,1979(Africa's longest-serving Ruler)

National Assembly of Angola

The National Assembly has 223 members, elected for a 4- year term, 130 members by proportional representation , 90 members in provincial districts, and 3 members to represent Angolans abroad.




Angola is celebrating 10 years of peace on April 04,2012. Since the end of its 27-year civil war in 2002.The country's economy has prospered thanks to oil(Angola has become Africa's number two oil producer after Nigeria).
Only a small elite has benefited from the southern African country's economic boom; most Angolans continue to live in acute poverty.An estimated two-thirds of Angola's 16.5 million people live on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations.

The country was ranked 148 out of 187 on the 2011 UN human development index.

Over the past decade, Angola has been one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. Its GDP is forecast to increase by an impressive 12% this year, according to the World Bank, mainly due to major export earnings from oil.

Parliamentary Elections scheduled for August or September 2012
With José Eduardo Dos Santos – Africa's longest-serving ruler – at the helm since 1979, the country has become an autocracy, in which the ruling MPLA enjoys a parliamentary supra-majority with few constitutional checks and balances.

The president has already ignored a new electoral law, which stipulates that an independent judge needs to be made head of the country's electoral commission, by reappointing Susana Ingles, a lawyer close to the president. Opposition parties have appealed Ingles' appointment and are currently awaiting a supreme court decision.

Angolan Parliament Election -Aug 31,2012

At the time of the election, the National Aseembly had 220 seats, of which 130 were elected by proportional representation and the remaining 90 elected in 18 five-seat constituencies.Voters had to be at least 18 years old and not have an undischarged bankruptcy or criminal conviction. Candidates had to be at least 35 years-old.

A total of nine parties and coalitions contested the elections, four of which are parties -

MPLA,UNITA,the National Liberation Front of Angola(FNLA) and the Social Renewal Party  and

five of which are coalitions -
the United Front for Change of Angola (FUMA),
the New Democracy Electoral Union
People's Party for Development(PAPOD)
Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE)and
Political Opposition Council (CPO)

 

Election Result Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
MPLA	4,135,503	71.84	175
UNITA	1,074,565	18.66	32

The ruling party of Angola's President, José Eduardo dos Santos, was assured of another five years in office after the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has been in power for 32 years, had gained a large majority. The MPLA will remain in control of Angola's 220-seat legislature, although its margin of victory is down from the 82% that it won in 2008.The largest opposition party, Unita, won 18% of the vote, nearly twice its share from 2008.
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