Maravi

Angola presidential vote seen delayed until 2010

Angola presidential vote seen delayed until 2010
Written by chama
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 4:26:13 PM

LUANDA (Reuters) - Prospects for Angola's post-war presidential poll to take place in 2009 receded on Wednesday after the group in charge of drafting a new constitution, a precondition for the vote, said it was likely to need more time.

The Constitutional Commission, comprised of members of parliament, said in a statement that work on a new constitution could take longer than expected. The new constitution was due before September 23.

"After this, it is clear that there will be no time for elections to be held this year," Justino Pinto de Andrade, an economist and political analyst at Luanda's Catholic University told Reuters.

The ruling MPLA party, which won 81 percent of the vote in elections last year, has said a presidential poll can take place only after the new constitution is approved.

The presidential vote will be the first since the end of Angola's three-decade long civil war in 2002 and only the second in the southwestern African nation's history.

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, 67, won the first round of Angola's presidential election in 1992, which took place during a lull in fighting between the ruling MPLA and rebels from the opposition UNITA party.

But UNITA former leader Jonas Savimbi, killed by government troops in 2002, refused to accept the results and the fighting resumed. Dos Santos has been in power for 30 years.

The new constitution will decide, among other things, whether a president is elected through parliament or by popular vote -- as is currently the case.

It could also pave the way for multi-billion dollars deals in Angola's oil sector. Angola rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer.

Major oil companies like Chevron and Total have been waiting for the opening of a new bidding round for Angola's offshore oil blocks. The last tender was suspended because of the 2008 parliamentary elections.

Labels: ANGOLA, ELECTIONS

posted by MrK @ 3:26 PM