Angolans went to the polls for the first time in 16 years in September to vote for a new parliament. Despite some concerns, the Sept. 5 polls unfolded in a generally peaceful way, much to the credit of citizens who came out to vote in large numbers and political parties that encouraged members to adhere to a strict code of conduct.

However, international and domestic observers reported logistical and organizational challenges and procedural inconsistencies, particularly in the capital. The ruling Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won 82 percent of the vote while the main opposition party, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), won 10 percent.

NDI-Angola worked with its local partner, The National Platform, an Angolan network of provincial election monitoring organizations, to enhance civil society participation in the election process. It supported National Platform efforts to monitor the pre-election period and assisted in the recruiting, training and deploying of observers on election day.  NDI trained members of the Platform to prepare them to train observers within their own provinces. “I felt special working as an observer, with the power of persuading officials to proceed according to the law and preventing possible irregularities,” said one short term observer from Luanda province. “I felt important to represent the people and give them trust in the process.”

The Institute also provided election observation materials, including observer manuals, an election terms glossary in Portuguese and five national languages, a video about election monitoring, and observation forms for the day of the election. To accurately capture the information contained in the forms, the National Platform, with support from NDI, organized an election day command center and trained staff to enter data as the forms were received from election observers working in provinces around the country. These activities increased citizen participation and public confidence in the electoral process.

Pictured above: Nonpartisan observers with the National Platform pore over results of the Sept. 5 parliamentary election.

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Published on Sept. 30, 2008