/ 8 February 2008

Angola elections no threat to stability, says deputy PM

Angola’s upcoming elections do not pose a risk to the country’s economic and political stability, Deputy Prime Minister Aguinaldo Jaime said at a conference in Lisbon on Friday.

Angola is expected to hold a long-delayed parliamentary election on September 5 and 6 and presidential elections in 2009.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer has not held a national election since a disastrous 1992 presidential race was aborted after the first round, leading to the resumption of a 27-year civil war.

”Is there a risk of returning to the past now that Angola is entering the second electoral process in its history?” Jaime asked Portuguese investors at the conference. ”I don’t think so. Angola is living through a period of political and economic stability and that stability is a precious good for Angolans.”

He said investors should not feel uneasy about China’s growing investment in Angola.

”Nobody should fear competition from China,” he said. ”Angola is an open economy and investors should figure out what their competitive advantages are.” — Reuters