IRI Co-Hosts Roundtable on Election Prospects in Angola

June 25, 2002

On June 5 IRI, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) hosted a roundtable on the prospect for elections in Angola.

Approximately 35 participants attended the discussion, including representatives from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, US-Angola Chamber of Commerce, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, USAID, the Angolan Embassy and UNITA.

David Kramer, former IRI-Angola Country Director and current Nebraska GOP president, offered invaluable insight into Angola's current political environment. He led a pre-election assessment mission to Angola in August 2001 and returned in May 2002 to launch the final assessment report that was broadcast nationally on Angola radio. Kramer presented the report to Angola President dos Santos' special representative and discussed its content with government officials and political party and civil society representatives. The assessments were conducted jointly with NDI and IFES.

The report's findings and subsequent discussions have become more relevant since the February 2002 death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi and the April 2002 cease-fire signed between Angolan government forces and UNITA.

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