Angolan MPLA set for big poll win

Angola's ruling MPLA party is heading for a landslide victory in the country's first parliamentary elections in 16 years, preliminary results show.

With around half of the votes counted, the MPLA had received 81% of the vote, the electoral commission said.

It said the main opposition party, Unita, had polled 10%.

Unita is demanding a re-run in Luanda, saying the voting in the capital was chaotic. An African observer mission said the elections had been credible.

This poll is seen as a vital step in the oil-rich country's recovery from decades of civil war.

Fourteen parties took part in the elections. Full results are not expected for up to 10 days.

'Bad losers'

Polling was extended after chaos on Friday prevented many people in Luanda province from casting their vote.

Some polling stations opened late and others quickly ran out of ballot papers.

Unita (the Union for the Total Independence of Angola) is now challenging the legality of the poll in the constitutional court.

The party's leader, Isaias Samakuva, said the system in Luanda had collapsed.

The Sadc mission congratulates the people of Angola on peaceful, free, transparent and credible elections which reflect the will of the people John Kunene, Sadc observer mission Angola polls promise change From war amputees to first voters Party mood for peace poll

Ngola Kabangu, who heads the opposition FNLA party, said the election was extremely flawed.

The MPLA (the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) has branded Unita "bad losers" and is already claiming victory, the BBC's Louise Redvers in Luanda says.

Population shifts in some provinces due to the long-running civil war have added to Unita's woes, with the MPLA winning majorities in traditionally strong opposition areas, our correspondent says.

Observers from the regional grouping, Southern African Development Community (Sadc), said the vote had been "transparent and credible".

"The Sadc mission congratulates the people of Angola on peaceful, free, transparent and credible elections which reflect the will of the people," John Kunene of the observer mission told the AFP news agency.

Luisa Morgantini, head of the EU observer mission in Angola, blamed "woeful organisation" for the problems and said that a failure to provide voter registration lists at polling stations was a violation of the country's electoral laws.

She added that some election officials had failed to show up at some polling stations, and that there was a shortage of the ink used to mark voters' fingers and prevent multiple voting.

In the lead up to the election, Unita accused the MPLA of intimidating its supporters and dominating state media.

Some eight million voters are registered in the country - more than a quarter of whom live in the capital's overcrowded conditions.

The MPLA has ruled Angola since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

At least once in a while there is a little good news. After a 2 decade civil war (complete with interventions from the US and South Africa on one side and the USSR and Cuba on the other) and 3 separate UN peacekeeping missions, Angola has successfully (for the most part) held democratic elections.

An update:

An EU observer has told the BBC there was vote-rigging in Angola, where the ruling MPLA is expected to win a landslide election victory.

Richard Howitt said the governing party had offered bribes in one province, while soldiers and MPLA officials appeared to have intimidated voters.

Other election observers have said the vote was transparent.

With more than two-thirds of the votes counted, the MPLA had 82% and the opposition Unita party 10.5%.

Africa urged to act on Zimbabwe

The UN has urged African leaders at a key summit in Egypt to try to negotiate a solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe.

UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said this was the "moment of truth" for the African Union leaders.

President Robert Mugabe is attending the meeting. He was sworn in on Sunday after a victory that observers said had been undermined by pre-poll violence.

South Africa has now urged Mr Mugabe to hold talks with the opposition towards forming a transitional government.

Mr Mugabe claimed a landslide victory as the sole candidate after the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, withdrew.

Draft resolution

Ms Migiro told the leaders of the 53-nation bloc: "This is a moment of truth for regional leaders... the secretary-general urges your excellencies to mobilise support for a negotiated solution."

She added: "This is the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa."

Ms Migiro again expressed UN regret that the election had been allowed to go ahead despite the violence.

In his welcoming speech, host President Hosni Mubarak said bolstering peace and security was "essential for resolving disputes and conflicts in the continent".

The AU has a rule not to accept leaders who have not been democratically elected - but observers say it is unlikely to take such strong action against Mr Mugabe so quickly.

A draft resolution written by African foreign ministers during talks ahead of the summit did not criticise the elections or Mr Mugabe, but condemned violence in general terms and called for dialogue.

Independent observers have criticised the poll.

The AU's own monitors said on Monday: "The vote fell short of the African Union's standards of democratic elections."

However, the said they were "encouraged" by the willingness of the MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF to hold talks.

Earlier the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) observers said there was "politically-motivated violence, intimidation and displacements".

The Pan-African Parliament called for fresh elections to be held, saying the vote was not free or fair.

On Monday South Africa's foreign ministry said Zanu-PF and the MDC "must enter into negotiations which will lead to the formation of a transitional government".

The MDC has previously criticised South Africa's role and on Monday called for an additional mediator to be appointed to work alongside President Thabo Mbeki.

Also on Monday, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the election was a "farce" that it could not accept.

UK PM Gordon Brown said: "I hope that the African Union and its leaders will make it absolutely clear that there has to be change and a new government has got to be brought in."

Separately, on the eve of the summit, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, one of Mr Mugabe's leading critics, was rushed to hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh suffering chest pains. He is said to be stable.

Spoilt ballots

Mr Mugabe was sworn in during a quickly convened ceremony on Sunday, about an hour after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced the results of the presidential election run-off.

Robert Mugabe is sworn in as Zimbabwe's president

The commission said Mr Mugabe won 85.5% of the vote, but many ballots were spoiled.

In a speech that followed the swearing-in ceremony, Mr Mugabe said he was committed to talks with the opposition to find a solution to the political crisis.

However, BBC Southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says the opposition may reject any notion of a government of national unity in which Mr Mugabe is still in a key position.

The MDC said some 86 of its supporters were killed and 200,000 forced from their homes by militias loyal to the ruling Zanu-PF party in the weeks preceding the run-off.

The government has blamed the MDC for the violence.

Mr Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7480584.stm


This is just a topic we have not touched on and it is of major importance in the region. I encourage you to check out the actual article for a map of the nations surrounding Zimbabwe and their positions on the matter.