Angola opposition takes issue with vote in Luanda

Angola opposition Unita on Friday contested at the Constitutional Court landmark elections in the capital, Luanda, where chaos resulted in a second day of voting last week.

The former rebel movement last week accepted the result of nationwide parliamentary elections, with the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) guaranteed a large victory.

While official final results have yet to be released, the MPLA won more than 80% of ballots cast with just over 85% of votes counted.

However, Unita said it wanted to mark its displeasure with disorder in the capital city on voting day by filing the court challenge.

The opposition said it had turned to the Constitutional Court after the electoral commission last week threw out a request for a repeat of elections in Luanda for lack of “supporting evidence”.

“We made this step to the Constitutional Court to be coherent with ourselves ... We want it to be recorded in history that we contested this election,” said Abilio Kamalata Numa, Unita secretary general.

While the country’s first election in 16 years ran smoothly in other parts of the country, logistical problems meant many polling stations in Luanda could not open or function properly as election material failed to arrive.

This meant voting was extended for a second day as citizens went to the polls for the first time since an aborted 1992 election reignited a civil war, which eventually ended in 2002 after nearly three-decades.

Unita, which contested the last election that plunged the country back into violence, said it had accepted its defeat and called on the ruling party to “govern in the interest of all Angolans”.—Sapa-AFP