Angola

The International Republican Institute (IRI) has a long history of political party training and governance assistance programming in Angola going back to 1992. This experience is complemented by IRI's collective expertise in conducting political party programs and electoral assistance activities worldwide. During the early years of the program, IRI contributed to the development of democratic institutions at the local level through a project which provided pre-election advisory assistance to Angolan political parties and nongovernmental organizations.

In 1996, after the war ended, IRI launched a new program in Angola with support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Extensive party training was conducted with the twelve political parties represented in the National Assembly, as well as with coalitions of parties not represented. A number of topics were taught, including message development, financial management, candidate recruitment, grassroots party-building, and party structure and organization.

Political Party Development

In anticipation of upcoming elections, IRI political party trainings have placed a particular focus on familiarizing national and provincial party members with electoral laws, grassroots party structure, communications, message development, media and women's participation.

Campaign Readiness

Continued cooperation with the national and local party leadership has allowed IRI to foster stronger linkages with grassroots and provincial structures, bolstering the relevance and legitimacy of Angola's political party system as a whole. While IRI's work in the past has targeted parties with seats in the National Assembly, IRI is also targeting newly formed parties and coalitions. Extensive training in areas such as message development, communication and outreach, finance and electoral regulations will help level the playing field for parties intending to contest elections. IRI will also use its experience in other parts of the world to conduct extensive polling agent and strategic planning training for all parties as elections approach.

For much of Angola's history it was a colony ruled by Portugal. In 1933, Portugal's Prime Minister António Salazar established a new constitution that would make Angola function more like the Portuguese state. In the early 1960s, a bloody guerrilla war began. Following the end of the Salazar regime and major political changes in Portugal, Angola was released from colonial rule and became an independent country in 1975.

However, independence did not bring an end to the fighting. Soon after independence, civil war broke out among Angola's three major parties. In 1977, the Communist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola or MPLA) took control of the government. The civil war continued with direct armed support from Cuban and South African troops, and the indirect involvement of the Soviet Union and the United States. With the exception of a few ceasefire agreements, the only significant pause in the civil war came in 1992 when national elections offered a brief respite to both sides.

When Jonas Savimbi, long-time leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola or UNITA), Angola's major opposition party, refused to accept the results of the election fighting began again. The United States soon recognized the MPLA-led administration of Eduardo dos Santos as the legitimate government of Angola. Faced with growing international isolation, UNITA signed the Lusaka Protocol in November1994, in Lusaka, Zambia, agreeing to specific terms of integration into the government. However, the Lusaka Protocol was never fully implemented and sporadic fighting continued until Savimbi's death in 2002.

Since then, UNITA and MPLA have moved towards implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. Recently, much attention has focused on the drafting of a package of electoral laws which, when passed, will set the groundwork for voter registration and the final scheduling of national elections. With support from the international community, Angola has an opportunity to begin building a true democratic state that will be able to sustain long-lasting peace.

Political Overview

Head of Government: President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola

Type of Government: republic

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: political party strengthening

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development