Angolan general election, 1992

Angola
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General elections were held in Angola on 29 and 30 September 1992 to elect a President and National Assembly, the first time multi-party elections had been held in the country. They followed the signing of the Bicesse Accord on 31 May 1991 in an attempt to end the 17-year-long civil war.^[1] Voter turnout was 91.3% for the parliamentary election and 91.2% for the presidential election.^[2]

The ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won both elections, however eight opposition parties, in particular the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), rejected the 1992 election as rigged. An official observer wrote that there was little UN supervision, that 500,000 UNITA voters were disenfranchised and that there were 100 clandestine polling stations. UNITA sent negotiators to the capital, but at the same time prepared measures to resume the civil war. As a consequence, hostilities erupted in Luanda and immediately spread to other parts of the country. Several thousand to tens of thousands of UNITA members or supporters were killed nationwide by MPLA forces in a few days, in what is known as the Halloween Massacre. War resumed immediately. ^{[3][4][5] [6]}

Results

President

According to the constitution adopted in 1992, the failure of any candidate to win more than 50% of the vote meant that a second round was required, with José Eduardo dos Santos and Jonas Savimbi as sole candidates. However, Savimbi said the election had neither been free nor fair and refused to participate in the second round.^[7] Because of the Civil War this second round never took place, and dos Santos continued as President, even without the constitutionally necessary democratic legitimation.

National Assembly

A total of 12 parties won seats, with the ruling MPLA winning nearly 54% of the total votes and 129 of the 220 seats, whilst UNITA won 70 seats.

References

Elections in Angola Presidential elections 1992 Parliamentary elections 1973 1980 1986 1992 2008 2012