Angolans vote in polls likely to keep Dos Santos in power

Angolans voted Friday in the country's third elections since independence in 1975, with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos expected to extend his grip on power in the oil-rich nation despite a revitalised opposition.

Normally teeming Luanda was unusually quiet as Friday was declared a national holiday to allow 9.7 million registered voters to visit the more than 10,000 polling stations at schools across a country twice the size of France.

Voting proceeded slowly but with few hiccups -- a dramatic improvement from the last elections in 2008 when voting was extended to a second day due to chaos at polling stations.

"This election is going well, it's organised," said Joaquim Alessandro, 37, outside a polling station in the seaside slum of Boa Vista, where shacks cascade down an eroding hill overlooking one of Africa's busiest ports.

The opposition Unita party has expressed fears the vote that pits them against the party of Africa's second-longest serving ruler will not be entirely free and fair.

There's little doubt that Dos Santos will extend his 33-year reign, after his People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) took more than 80 percent of the vote in 2008 polls that were deemed legitimate by observers despite the troubles at the polling stations.

"I am satisfied because the process is going smoothly throughout the country," he said after casting his ballot at a school near the presidential palace.

"Today people have power in their hands, and it's a great responsibility."

Dos Santos has used his decades in office to centralise most power in his hands. His family, particularly his daughter Isabel, has capitalised on Angola's oil boom to build an international business empire.

He has also poured billions into rebuilding Angola after 41 years of warfare, with 14 years of armed struggle against colonial power Portugal turning into a 27-year civil war after independence in 1975.

He has used his dominance over state media to showcase roads, dams, schools and clinics built since the fighting ended a decade ago.

Critics often deride his vanity projects, like Luanda's new bayside boardwalk, opened Tuesday with much fanfare on his 70th birthday.

But life in Angola has by most measures improved.

The economy over the past decade was among the fastest-growing in the world. Per capita gross domestic product was nearly $1,900 in 2009 -- triple that of 2000. Life expectancy went up from about 40 in 1980 to above 51 now.

The main opposition Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) argues that the economic gains have mainly benefited an elite showered with oil riches, while 55 percent of the population still live in dire poverty.

Party leader Isaias Samakuva has for months criticised the electoral process, saying many names on the voter roll can't be authenticated.

A Unita court battle forced out the head of the electoral commission in May, but some of the party's other concerns have been ignored.

"I did my civic duty, even if we are still not satisfied with the electoral process," he said after voting in a posh new suburb.

After taking only 10 percent of the vote in 2008, the former rebel movement needs a strong showing to prove that it remains relevant in modern politics.

That task has been complicated by a dramatic split in April, when the charismatic Abel Chivukuvuku broke away to form the Casa party, along with a top-level MPLA defector, smaller opposition groups and prominent figures in civil society.

Casa has made in-roads by courting young voters with promises of jobs and better living conditions, striking a chord with the youth who over the past year have staged a series of unprecedented protests against Dos Santos.

The main question in the elections was not whether MPLA would win, but how they will win, said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at the Chatham House think-tank.

"It basically needs a legitimate election to continue, but is it so insecure that it could use illegitimate means?"

That's a question that can only be answered once the ballots are counted over the next few days. Even Casa officials concede there's little chance of defeating the MPLA, but expect the opposition could take at least 30 percent of the vote.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dos-santos-tipped-win-angola-heads-polls-023657790.html

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