 Democracy |
 the fight for a pluralistic society |
Angola has officially been a democracy since March 1991 when a constitutional amendment legalized opposition parties. In late September 1992, President Eduardo Dos Santos led the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) to victory in the country's first ever free elections. He won 49,57% of the vote against 40% for Jonas Savimbi of UNITA who refused to recognize the result plunging the country back into civil war.
While United Nations conflict resolution efforts in 1991 (Bicesse Agreement) and 1994 (Lusaka Agreement) helped lay the foundations of democracy they are widely perceived to have failed in bringing about a durable end to conflict.
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The continued fighting and the sudden departure of the UN's 4000 strong peace keeping force in 1999 have pushed the ruling MPLA to postpone general elections, overdue since 1997. Pressure is mounting on President Dos Santos who postponed them most recently in 2000 following heavy fighting with UNITA rebels. The government recently announced plans to hold the election in 2002.
Today Angola is governed by the GURN (Government of National Unity & Reconciliation) an MPLA-dominated government including certain moderate elements of UNITA. While this constitutes an important step in bringing certain dissident elements of UNITA into the political fold, Jonas Savimbi continues to keep up attacks on the civil population. However, there is growing awareness that at some point either Eugenio Manuvakola's UNITA-Renovada or Abel Chivukuvuku's UNITA Parliamentary Grouping will be recognized internationally as the de facto standard bearer of UNITA. |
Introduction
