Speakers representing NDI, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) commended Angolans for conducting largely successful parliamentary elections Sept. 5 despite some procedural and logistical challenges.
NDI’s Angola resident director Isabel Emerson along with Lauren Oing of IRI and Anne Salinas of IFES spoke at a Sept. 26 forum at NDI that also included representatives from the Angolan Embassy and the National Union for the Total Independence for Angola (UNITA), the main Angolan opposition party. They noted areas where the Angolan National Electoral Commission performed well during the September polls and laid out suggestions for how the process could be improved for the presidential election, expected in 2009. Their recommendations included establishment of an election timeline and calendar, acceleration of accreditation for domestic elections observers, more vigorous but peaceful debate and campaigning, and revisions to the 2004 election law.
Pictured above: Isabel Emerson of the National Democratic Institute (left), at the Sept. 26 forum with Anne Salinas of IFES.
