ANGOLA: War-damaged infrastructure the biggest challenge to elections

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 19 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Angola's biggest challenge will be rehabilitating as much of the dilapidated infrastructure as possible before general elections next year, according to a regional poll expert.

President Eduardo Dos Santos is yet to announce a date for the country's first post-war presidential and legislative elections, but both are expected to take place before September 2006.

The National Electoral Commission (CNE), the body mandated to prepare for and oversee the vote, formally took office on Friday and announced that its first task would be to launch a nationwide voter registration campaign.

Although the Luanda government has been congratulated for its commitment to holding a ballot, the war-ruined infrastructure is arguably the greatest hurdle facing the authorities.

"Now that the [political] hiccups have largely been resolved, the government is faced with serious technical problems as it prepares for the election. Roads are in disrepair and there are still many areas in the provinces that are inaccessible," commented Martinho Chachiua, the Angola programme officer at the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.

Voter registration was likely to be further complicated by the absence of reliable demographic data. "The government will be working with outdated information and very rough estimates of the number of people in various constituencies," Chachiua noted.

According to the last census, taken for the 1992 general elections, the population was 10 million but is now estimated at around 13 million.

Last year Justice Minister Paulo Tjipilica said around two million eligible voters in Angola did not possess identity documents. Since then the government has embarked on a 'civil registration' campaign to ensure that millions of undocumented citizens have proof of nationality.

"The uncertainty of the figures is likely to open up room for complaints about the process - opposition parties are bound to say the registration wasn't comprehensive enough," said Chachiua.

"According to the country's electoral laws, Dos Santos is under no pressure to announce a date just yet - he can announce a date just 90 days before the poll," he pointed out.

Angola's main opposition party, UNITA, said on Friday it hoped the government had the "necessary imagination" to overcome infrastructure obstacles as the country moved towards a landmark election.

UNITA public administration secretary Alcides Sakala commented, "We are content that we are now moving in the right direction. We hope that we can continue to work together with the government, provided we continue to engage in constructive dialogue. There are definitely some big challenges ahead but, with the political will and the necessary imagination, we are likely to be successful."

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