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Electoral legislation debated

On 20 April the Angolan parliament, the National Assembly, adopted several draft laws from the electoral legislative package that will form the foundations for national elections planned for September 2006. However, a major stumbling block is the draft Electoral Law, with neither side in the National Assembly agreeing on the central issue of who actually runs the elections. On 21 April parliament was still trying to reach a last minute consensus.

The legislative package was hammered out in a number of parliamentary commissions over the last month, but the

Government reshuffles continue

The Angolan government on 27 January underwent a further reshuffle, with the Minister for Information, Hendrik Vaal Neto being the most senior politician to be replaced. His deputy, Manuel Augusto, was also relieved of his post. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos replaced them with two senior media figures. The new Minister for Information, the former Director-General of Angolan National Radio (RNA), Manuel Antonio Rabelais, was sworn in on 28 January along with his deputy, Manuel Miguel de Carvalho "Wadijimbi", who was formerly the Director-General

UNITA demand politicisation of Electoral Commission

The largest opposition party, UNITA, has demanded that an Independent Electoral Commission be set up in such a way that it is itself represented, along with churches and civil society.

On 6 December UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva told a workshop of opposition parliamentarians that the creation of an independent electoral commission must be at the centre of a new electoral law for the next election, which is expected to be held in September 2006.

Samakuva also raised UNITA's opposition

Poor response to UN aid appeal

Despite recent donations from the European Commission and France to the United Nations joint appeal for Angola, the appeal remains woefully under-funded, with little prospect of aid flows matching donations given last year. Last year's UN Consolidated Inter Agency Appeal for Angola raised $173 million, down from $206 million in 2002. However, by 8 October, this year's appeal, which is supposed to bridge the period between emergency and recovery, has only raised $104 million, or 58 percent of the total requested under the umbrella appeal.

Deadlock in Constitutional Commission

Negotiations towards Angola's first elections since 1992 appear deadlocked. Angola's main opposition party, UNITA, has continued its boycott of parliament's Constitutional Commission, the body that will pave the way for the country's next elections. UNITA first left the Commission in May and has said it will not rejoin talks until Angola's president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has set a timetable for elections. However, the ruling MPLA argues that it is bodies like the Constitutional

Donor failure leads to cuts in UN appeal
The United Nations Consolidated Appeal for Angola has been cut by almost a third in response to the lack of support from international donors. The UN had calculated at the beginning of the year that Angola needed over $262 million in 2004 to support the country in its transition from emergency to recovery. This has been cut to $181 million, but it looks as if there is no interest in supporting Angola's recovery, as aid continues to focus almost exclusively upon vital humanitarian assistance. Donations now stand at only $69 million.

IMF agreement imminent
A full formal agreement between Angola and the International Monetary Fund could be in place as soon as January 2005. Speaking to the British Angola Forum in London on 19 April, the Angolan Minister of Finance, Jose Pedro de Morais, pointed out that a preliminary IMF mission is already in Luanda looking at the latest improvements in the government's handling of macro-economic data and transparency in the flow of oil revenues. This should lead the way to a full IMF mission by the end of May, after which negotiations can begin over a full "Staff

Election delay until 2006
The Angolan government has announced that elections are likely to take place in 2006 in order to allow for the adoption of a new constitution and electoral law, and for there to be a national census and registration. In many Angolan towns and villages, there is no state structure to organise the election and the government is concerned about both the cost and time needed to put such structures in place.

However the largest opposition party, UNITA, has criticised the delay, is pushing for elections to be held in