Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
The United States government on Monday called on all parties in Angola to resolve any grievances ‘peacefully’ and ‘legally’ following an August 24 general election won by the ruling MPLA.
“The United States notes the broad participation of Angolans in the August 24 elections. We look forward to working together on a path toward a safer, more secure, and prosperous Angola for all,” U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said in a statement. “We will continue to closely follow the electoral process. We call on all parties to express themselves peacefully and to resolve any grievances in accordance with applicable legal processes under Angolan law.”
Angola’s ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), won Wednesday’s general election, defeating the country’s main opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
The country’s electoral commission announced the election’s final results on Monday, saying that the MPLA won 51.17 percent majority while UNITA received 43.95 percent.
The electoral commission said that only about 6.4 million of the 14 million Angolans who registered to vote did so.
The results mean that President Joao Lourenco has secured a second five-year term in office, and extended the rule of the MPLA, which has been in power since independence from Portugal in 1975.
“We have reached yet another outright majority,” MPLA spokesperson Rui Falcao told journalists last week at a news conference in the capital city of Luanda, which overwhelmingly voted for UNITA.
UNITA presidential candidate Costa Junior, however, initially rejected the results, telling journalists at his own news conference that there were discrepancies between his party’s tally and the commission’s count, and calling on the international community to review the tally.
“There is not the slightest of doubt that the MPLA did not win the elections,” he said, adding that UNITA does not recognize the provisional results. Reports said the turnout was very low with almost half the 14 million registered voters staying home.
In Washington, the Biden administration had been paying attention to the Angolan general election. At a news conference on Friday, the White House said that the United States continues to observe the electoral process in Angola and encourages “peace and patience as the vote tally process continues.”
“The United States congratulates the people of Angola for making their voices heard in Wednesday’s elections. We continue to observe the electoral process as votes are counted. We encourage peace and patience as the vote tally process continues. The United States supports the democratic process through our ongoing democracy and governance programs and by observing the elections,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing in Washington following a question by Today News Africa White House Correspondent Simon Ateba.
She added, “Election observations promote participation and public confidence in the electoral process. The United States and Angola share a strong partnership. We will continue to work together with the government chosen by the Angolan people to deepen cooperation around shared priorities, including democracy, economic growth and investment, global health security and public health, and climate and energy goals to create a better future for all Angolans.
“The United States commends the people of Angola for their participation in the democratic process and efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, which will provide a foundation for a safe, prosperous and healthy and inclusive future for both of our countries.”
Asked to comment on the Angolan general election and on his announcement at the G7 meeting in Germany last June that the United States government had facilitated a new partnership between two American firms and the government of Angola to invest $2 billion in building new solar projects in Angola, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. who spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House simply said “Do you think we’re investing in your country for nothing? There must be a reason.” according to the reporter.
“Fast and reliable transportation infrastructure, including railroads and ports, is essential to moving inputs for refining and processing and expanding access to clean energy technologies. For example, the U.S. government just facilitated a new partnership between two American firms and the government of Angola to invest $2 billion in building new solar projects in Angola,” Biden said in remarks last June. “It’s a partnership that will help Angola meet its climate goals and energy needs while creating new markets for American technologies and good jobs in Angola and, I suspect, throughout Africa.”
G7 leaders last June formally launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) with the objective of delivering “game-changing projects to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries, strengthen the global economy and supply chains, and advance U.S. national security.”
Angolans went to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new president and National Assembly in what was expected to be the most contested general election in the country’s recent history. It was Angola’s fifth multiparty election since 1992. About 14 million people registered to vote at more than 26,400 polling stations across the country and abroad.
Angola’s two main political parties, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), were the principal belligerents in the country’s 26-year civil war. However, in 2017, the country experienced its first presidential electoral transition when President Joao Lourenco of the MPLA succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos, also of the MPLA, who ruled Angola for 38 years.
The presidential election on August 24 was a straight fight between João Lourenço of MPLA, who has been in power since 2017, and Adalberto Costa Júnior of UNITA, the country’s main opposition party.
MPLA had 53,000 representatives to monitor the voting and counting while UNITA called on its supporters to sit at polling stations after voting to observe the counting and posting of the tallies. There were also about 2,000 international observers including from the African Union, the European Union, the Southern African Development Community and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Early this month, some top United States Senators introduced a Senate resolution calling for free, fair, and peaceful elections in Angola on August 24, and urging all political parties not to use violence whatever the outcome of the vote. They should rather work together to develop and implement reforms that will benefit all Angolans, as the southwestern African nation continues to strengthen its democratic institutions.
The resolution urged “all political parties in Angola to pledge that they will not use violence during or after the election, will respect the outcome of the vote, and will investigate any disputes peacefully, using legal mechanisms.”
It also urged “the people of Angola to exercise their right to vote on election day and calls on all parties to work together, whatever the outcome of the election, to develop and implement a broad-based reform agenda, undertaken in collaboration with civil society, that will address the most urgent issues facing Angola.”
In addition to urging the government of Angola to take specific steps to ensure the credibility of the upcoming election, the resolution also calls for the United States to hold accountable any actor from any political party or group who might try to subvert the electoral process or use violence during or after the election on August 24.
In the past five years, human rights and anti-corruption organizations have noted some significant progress in the strengthening of the rule of law and government institutions, the respect for human rights, and the fight against corruption.
João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, who was born March 5, 1954, has served as the president of Angola since September 26, 2017. He was Minister of Defense from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, he became the Chairman of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party. He was the party’s Secretary-General from 1998 to 2003.
Adalberto Costa Júnior, who was born on May 8, 1962, is the current president of UNITA and a member of the National Assembly of Angola who trained in electrotechnical engineering at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto and in public ethics at the Gregorian University in Rome. Costa Junior was elected as president of the UNITA in 2019, ending Isaias Samakuva’s 16-year term. He is known to have campaigned against public corruption and was the grandson of Jonas Savimbi.
Jonas Savimbi was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led UNITA. UNITA waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974, then confronted the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola during the Angolan Civil War. Savimbi was killed in a clash with government troops in 2002.
Lourenço, who was largely expected to win, touted his achievements in several areas, including the fight against corruption, the strengthening of the rule of law, the opening of the Angolan economy, and investments in several sectors such as healthcare and development. Costa Júnior, who is the underdog has also campaigned against public corruption and promised that he would speed up the country’s development.
The U.S. Senate resolution was introduced by Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Chairman of the SFRC Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.
“Regardless of who wins this election, I call on all political actors to work together to develop and implement reforms that will deliver greater government transparency, prosperity, equality, and liberty for the Angolan people,” Senator Menendez wrote, adding that “After enduring decades of autocratic rule and mismanagement of state resources by one man and one party, Angolans deserve a chance to institutionalize the practice of choosing their own leaders through a free and fair process.”
“According to Freedom House, Angola is ‘not free’ – with a history of repressing democratic freedoms,” noted Senator Cardin. “Our resolution calls on the government of Angola to break away from its historic repression and hold free, fair, and peaceful elections later this month.”
“Angola has been ruled by one party since its independence, and the upcoming elections have already been marred by attempts to silence and intimidate opposition parties. We urge all parties involved to act in the best interests of the people of Angola and to give all Angolans an opportunity to finally have their voices heard through a free, fair, and credible democratic process,” added Senator Van Hollen.
The resolution introduced on Wednesday notes that “despite holding regular elections and having active political opposition parties, Angola is classified as ‘‘Not Free’’ by Freedom House due to the ruling MPLA’s abuse of state institutions to control political processes and limit free expression.”
It says “mass media in Angola is controlled or highly influenced by the state, independent journalists face harassment, opposition parties are subject to bureaucratic interference, and fewer than half of Angolans feel free to speak their mind, according to a 2019 poll by Afrobarometer.”
It adds that “Angola is in a period of economic and social crisis, with widespread frustration over the poor state of the oil based economy and persistently high rates of poverty, inequality, and public corruption,” and that “since 2020, Angolans have expressed their dissatisfaction through frequent public protests, which have been met with arrests and police violence against protesters.”
It warns that failure not to hold a credible election will dangerously exacerbate political tensions in Angola, and urges the government to ensure the credibility of elections by allowing for all parties and candidates to campaign without undue restriction, harassment, or intimidation, and by publishing and freely disseminating electoral information, including voter rolls and election results, as well as by permitting the unrestricted participation of independent election monitors, including by inviting the European Union to send an election observation mission, as the European Union has stated it is prepared to do.
This should also be done by ceasing the use of state resources and institutions to support or promote particular political parties or candidates; and reversing the ban on opinion polling during elections.
On August 15, Amnesty International set what it described as ‘human rights manifesto’ for Angola ahead of August 24 general election, noting that the southern African nation has faced “an unprecedented crackdown on human rights, including unlawful killings and arbitrary arrests.” It will be Angola’s fifth general election since the end of its civil war in 2002. Angolans will be electing their president and parliamentary representatives.
In its new briefing, “Make the vote meaningful for human rights observance: Human rights manifesto for Angola ahead of the 2022 general election”, the organization said Angolan authorities have increased their clampdown on human rights amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation compounded by drought-induced hunger in the country’s southern region.
“Angola has been characterized by an increase in brutal crackdowns on human rights in recent years, including repression of any form of dissent. Protesters, including young people demanding accountability and their socio-economic rights, have not been spared,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
He added, “As the country heads to the polls, authorities must outline their plans to respect human rights, ensure accountability for countless human rights violations, and access to justice and effective remedies for victims. Authorities must work with the international community to bring humanitarian relief to the victims of drought and hunger in the southern region.”
The organization noted that while land grabs of communal grazing sites by commercial cattle ranches have progressively eroded economic and social resilience of pastoralist communities since the end of the civil war in 2002, millions of people in the south of Angola are now facing further threats as a climate change-related drought continues. Food and water are growing increasingly scarce, which has caused thousands of people to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighboring Namibia.
Going back to two years ago in 2020, Amnesty International said that at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the security forces responsible for implementing restrictions killed at least seven boys and young men by using excessive and lethal force.
In January 2021, police shot and killed dozens of activists who were peacefully protesting the high cost of living in the mining town of Cafunfo in Lunda Norte province.Security forces also chased down protestors in surrounding neighbourhoods and forests. While the exact numbers of those killed and injured remain unknown, dumped bodies were found in the nearby Cuango River.
Following the violent repression of a peaceful protest on February 8, 2021, the country’s Criminal Investigation Service arrested José Mateus Zecamutchima of the Lunda Tchokwe Protectorate Movement, which advocates for autonomy and self-determination of the eastern half of Angola. Accused of “association with evildoers and armed rebellion” and “leading the rebellion to overthrow the government”, José Mateus was subjected to an unfair trial and imprisonment. He has often been denied contact with his lawyer and family.
On May 30, 2021, police in Cabinda arrested and detained several protestors after violently ending their procession and confiscating their personal items. The demonstration was part of a wider five-province protest against drought-induced hunger, unemployment and the unaffordable cost of living.
Amnesty International said it is calling on the candidates in the upcoming election to publicly commit, if elected, to conduct prompt, thorough, impartial, independent, transparent and effective investigations into all the killings and hold those suspected to be responsible accountable in fair trials; ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families; bring to justice in fair trials all members of the security forces accused of using excessive and lethal force against peaceful protestors and provide access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families; and work with the international community to promptly bring humanitarian relief to the victims of drought and hunger in the southern region.
Here are the basic facts about Angolan election
1- How many people were registered to vote in Angola?
There are 14 million people registered to vote in Angola’s August 24 presidential and National Assembly election
2. Who were the main presidential candidates in Angola’s election?
The presidential election on August 24 is a straight fight between João Lourenço of MPLA, who has been in power since 2017, and Adalberto Costa Júnior of UNITA, the country’s main opposition party.
3. Who monitored the vote in Angola’s presidential election?
MPLA has 53,000 representatives to monitor the voting and counting while UNITA has called on its supporters to sit at polling stations after voting to observe the counting and posting of the tallies. There are also about 2,000 international observers including from the African Union, the European Union, the Southern African Development Community and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
4. When was Angola’s election?
The Angolan presidential election takes place on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
5. When will the results be known in Angola’s election?
It will take days for official results to be announced by the National Electoral Commission, to know whether President João Lourenço of MPLA will get a second term or Costa Júnior of UNITA will end its 47-year reign.
6. Who is João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço?
João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, who was born March 5, 1954, has served as the president of Angola since September 26, 2017. He was Minister of Defense from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, he became the Chairman of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party. He was the party’s Secretary-General from 1998 to 2003.
7. Who is Adalberto Costa Júnior?
Adalberto Costa Júnior, who was born on May 8, 1962, is the current president of UNITA and a member of the National Assembly of Angola who trained in electrotechnical engineering at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto and in public ethics at the Gregorian University in Rome. Costa Junior was elected as president of the UNITA in 2019, ending Isaias Samakuva’s 16-year term. He is known to have campaigned against public corruption and was the grandson of Jonas Savimbi.