List of political parties in Angola
Encyclopedia
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA) has ruled Angola
since independence in 1975. From 1975 to 1991, it was the sole legally existing party in a political system inspired by the model then practised by the "socialist" countries of Eastern Europe. Since 1991/1992, a multiparty system exists, where the MPLA has been dominant because of the majority it won in the 1992 parliamentary and presidential elections. In the latter, it failed to obtain the required absolute majority for its candidate, José Eduardo dos Santos
, and according to the constitution, a second round woud have been necessary. The outbreak of the Angolan Civil War
made this impossible, and José Eduardo dos Santos exercised presidential functions without a legal basis. For the same reason, the regular parliamentary elections stipulated by the constitution did not take place, and the parliament elected in 1992 remained in place for 16 years. While large sections of the interior were for years controlled by the armed forces of the rival movement National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) under the leadership of Jonas Savimbi
, UNITA's elected MPs were a regular part of the parliament, and for some years a government of national unity, led by the MPLA, also included members from the UNITA as well as from the NLA], the third movement that had fought the independence war against Portuguese colonial rule.
In total, in 1992 as well as in 2008, the year of the second parliamentary elections, there were more than 120 registered political parties
; only a handful had national constituencies, and only a few of them succeeded in having MPs elected for the National Assembly; see Elections in Angola
. After the 2008 elections, all parties which had not succeeded in electing MPs were by law considered as automatically dissolved. Most of them are by now (2011) effectively defunct, while others re-emerged under different names, and still others are still in the process of deciding about their future.
These three parties are outcomes of the three nationalist movements which fought the anti-colonial war against Portugal, 1961 to 1974, and then fought each other in the decolonisation conflict, 1974-75, and the civil war, 1975-2002. While the MPLA became a political party at independence, in 1975, the two others acquired this status in 1991, on the basis of the democratic constitution adopted at that stage. In the 1992 parliamentary elections, the MPLA obtained an absolute majority (53%), but the FNLA, and particularly UNITA, also conquered substantial numbers of seats - keeping the newly formed parties at a distance. However, in the 2008 elections the victory of the MPLA (82%) was overwhelming, so that UNITA (10%) was reduced to the category of a smaller party, and the FNLA (1%) to almost nothing. Still, the political weight of UNITA still is such that it has to be considered as a major player in the field. The weight of the FNLA is considerably more limited, because of years of infight (Ngola Kabangu contending for leadership with Lucas Ngonda), and the 2010s will tell whether or not it is capable of recovering some of its former importance.
NB: Only the ND-UE (2) and the PRS (3) have MPs in the National Assembly elected in 2008.
NB: With the exception of FpD (now refunded as Democratic Forum (see above), these were not organizations constituted as political parties in terms of the 1991 constitution, and thus did not take part in the 1992 or 2008 election.
on political opposition parties and the upcoming 2008 parliamentary electionshttp://www.cmi.no/publications/file/?3103=opposition-parties-and-the-upcoming-2008 is probably the most relevant and authoritative source on Angolan political parties. The study is based on interviews with party officials, newspaper articles and a review of the few reports available on politics and political parties in Angola. Access the CMI report here.
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975...
(MPLA) has ruled Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
since independence in 1975. From 1975 to 1991, it was the sole legally existing party in a political system inspired by the model then practised by the "socialist" countries of Eastern Europe. Since 1991/1992, a multiparty system exists, where the MPLA has been dominant because of the majority it won in the 1992 parliamentary and presidential elections. In the latter, it failed to obtain the required absolute majority for its candidate, José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
, and according to the constitution, a second round woud have been necessary. The outbreak of the Angolan Civil War
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
made this impossible, and José Eduardo dos Santos exercised presidential functions without a legal basis. For the same reason, the regular parliamentary elections stipulated by the constitution did not take place, and the parliament elected in 1992 remained in place for 16 years. While large sections of the interior were for years controlled by the armed forces of the rival movement National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) under the leadership of Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi was an Angolan political leader. He founded and led UNITA, a movement that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, 1966–1974, then confronted the rival MPLA during the decolonization conflict, 1974/75, and after independence in 1975 fought the ruling...
, UNITA's elected MPs were a regular part of the parliament, and for some years a government of national unity, led by the MPLA, also included members from the UNITA as well as from the NLA], the third movement that had fought the independence war against Portuguese colonial rule.
In total, in 1992 as well as in 2008, the year of the second parliamentary elections, there were more than 120 registered political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
; only a handful had national constituencies, and only a few of them succeeded in having MPs elected for the National Assembly; see Elections in Angola
Elections in Angola
According to the constitution of 1991, Angola elected on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president was elected by the people for a five-year term , by absolute majority - and if no candidate reached absolute majority, there had to be a second turn, with...
. After the 2008 elections, all parties which had not succeeded in electing MPs were by law considered as automatically dissolved. Most of them are by now (2011) effectively defunct, while others re-emerged under different names, and still others are still in the process of deciding about their future.
Major parties
| English name | Portuguese name | Founded | Leader | |
| National Front for the Liberation of Angola | Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola | FNLA | 1961 | Ngola Kabangu Ngola Kabangu Ngola Kabangu is the President of the National Liberation Front of Angola , a political party in Angola... |
| National Union for the Total Independence of Angola | União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola | UNITA | 1966 | Isaías Samakuva Isaias Samakuva Isaías Henrique Ngola Samakuva is an Angolan politician who has been the President of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola since 2003.... |
| Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975... |
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola | MPLA | 1958 | José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since... |
These three parties are outcomes of the three nationalist movements which fought the anti-colonial war against Portugal, 1961 to 1974, and then fought each other in the decolonisation conflict, 1974-75, and the civil war, 1975-2002. While the MPLA became a political party at independence, in 1975, the two others acquired this status in 1991, on the basis of the democratic constitution adopted at that stage. In the 1992 parliamentary elections, the MPLA obtained an absolute majority (53%), but the FNLA, and particularly UNITA, also conquered substantial numbers of seats - keeping the newly formed parties at a distance. However, in the 2008 elections the victory of the MPLA (82%) was overwhelming, so that UNITA (10%) was reduced to the category of a smaller party, and the FNLA (1%) to almost nothing. Still, the political weight of UNITA still is such that it has to be considered as a major player in the field. The weight of the FNLA is considerably more limited, because of years of infight (Ngola Kabangu contending for leadership with Lucas Ngonda), and the 2010s will tell whether or not it is capable of recovering some of its former importance.
Smaller parties
- Angolan Democratic ForumAngolan Democratic ForumThe Angolan Democratic Forum was a political party in Angola. The party was formed by UNITA dissidents in Canada. The chairman of FDA was Jorge Rebelo Pinto Chikoti. The FDA aligned with the Democratic Reflexion Tendency , which was then not constituted as a formal party...
(Fórum Democrático Angolano, FDA) - Angolan National Democratic PartyAngolan National Democratic PartyThe Angolan National Democratic Party is a political party in Angola. The chairman of the party is Geraldo Pereira João da Silva and the general secretary is Pedro João António...
(Partido Nacional Democrático Angolano, PNDA) - Democratic Alliance of AngolaDemocratic Alliance of AngolaDemocratic Angola – Coalition is an alliance of political parties in Angola. The leading force in AD–Coligação is the Front for Democracy . The president of the alliance is Evidor Quiela. The alliance was formed in 1992....
(Aliança Democrática de Angola, ADA) - Democratic Progress Party/Angolan National Alliance Party (Partido Democrático para o Progresso/Aliança Nacional Angolana, PDP-ANA)
- Democratic Renewal PartyDemocratic Renewal Party (Angola)The Democratic Renewal Party is a political party in Angola. The party was founded on December 16, 1990. The founders of PRD had belonged to the leadership of MPLA, but were exiled during the purges that followed a failed coup in 1977. The chairman of the party is Luis da Silva dos Passos.The PRD...
(Partido Renovador Democrático, PRD) - Liberal Democratic PartyLiberal Democratic Party (Angola)The Liberal Democratic Party is a liberal party in Angola, and is a member of Liberal International. At the 1992 elections, the PLD won 2.4% of the vote, gaining three seats in parliament. However, in the 2008 legislative election, the party gained only 0.33% of the vote and no seats in Parliament...
(Partido Liberal Democrático, PLD) - New Democracy Electoral UnionNew Democracy Electoral UnionNew Democracy Electoral Union is a political coalition in Angola, founded November 18, 2006. The coalition was registed by the Supreme Court in June 2008, ahead of the September 2008 legislative election. Most of the constituents of the coalition had previously been affiliated to another...
(Nova Democracia União Eleitoral ND-UE) - Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of AngolaParty of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of AngolaParty of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of Angola or is an opposition party in Angola. The president of Pajoca is Alexandre Sebastião André and the general secretary is Jesus Kabanga...
(Partido da Aliança da Juventude, Operários e Camponeses de Angola, PAJOCA) - Social Democrat Party (Partido Social-Democrata, PSD)
- Revelation Party ("Partido da Revelação") (founded 7 July 2007 in London by Angolan young Christians and students)
- Social Renewal PartySocial Renewal Party (Angola)The Social Renewal Party is a political party in Angola. The party was founded in 1991. It is mainly based within the Quioco ethnic group...
(Partido da Renovação Social, PRS)
NB: Only the ND-UE (2) and the PRS (3) have MPs in the National Assembly elected in 2008.
Defunct parties
- Angolan Communist PartyAngolan Communist PartyAngolan Communist Party was an underground political party in Portuguese Angola , founded in October 1955, under influence from the Portuguese Communist Party. PCA was led by the brothers Mário Pinto de Andrade and Joaquim Pinto de Andrade...
(Partido Comunista Angolano) - Angolan LeagueAngolan LeagueAngolan League , a political movement working for the interest of the native population of Portuguese colonial Angola. The organization was founded in 1912, directly after the proclamation of the Portuguese republic....
(Liga Angolana) - Communist Committee of CabindaCommunist Committee of CabindaCommunist Committee of Cabinda is a militant separatist group fighting for the independence of Cabinda from Angola. The CCC was led by Kaya Mohamed Yay and Geraldo Pedro. It split off from the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda in 1988....
(Comité Communista de Cabinda) - Communist Organization of AngolaCommunist Organization of AngolaCommunist Organization of Angola , a Maoist-oriented communist party in Angola. OCA was founded in 1975 by the Amilcar Cabral Committees . The CAC were founded in 1974 inside the MPLA and excluded in 1975. It opposed the MPLA government and what it called Soviet social-imperialism...
(Organização Comunista de Angola) - Democratic Front for the Liberation of AngolaDemocratic Front for the Liberation of AngolaThe Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola was a political movement in colonial Angola. FDLA was set up as a parallel structure to MPLA, supported by the government of Congo-Brazzaville. FDLA later aligned itself with MPLA in the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. Eventually the...
(FDLA) - Front for Democracy (Frente para a Democracia, FpD)
- Movement for the National Independence of AngolaMovement for the National Independence of AngolaMovement for the National Independence of Angola , a political party in Angola, formed in 1958. MINA later merged with other parties to Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola ....
(Movimento para a Independência Nacional de Angola) - Organization of the Communists of Angola (Organização dos Comunistas de Angola, OCA)
- Party of the United Struggle for Africans in AngolaParty of the United Struggle for Africans in AngolaParty of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola is the first political party in Angola to advocate Angolan independence from Portugal, campaigning from its founding in 1953 until it merged with the Angolan Communist Party to form the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in...
(Partido da Luta Unida dos Africanos de Angola)
NB: With the exception of FpD (now refunded as Democratic Forum (see above), these were not organizations constituted as political parties in terms of the 1991 constitution, and thus did not take part in the 1992 or 2008 election.
See also
- Politics of AngolaPolitics of AngolaSince the adoption of a new constitution, early in 2010, the politics of Angola takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Angola is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
- List of political parties by country
- Elections in AngolaElections in AngolaAccording to the constitution of 1991, Angola elected on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president was elected by the people for a five-year term , by absolute majority - and if no candidate reached absolute majority, there had to be a second turn, with...
Further reading
The recent report by the Chr. Michelsen InstituteChr. Michelsen Institute
The Chr. Michelsen Institute was founded in 1930, and is currently the largest centre for development research in Scandinavia. CMI is an independent, non-profit research foundation for policy-oriented and applied development research. Headed by the director Ottar Mæstad, it employs 40 social...
on political opposition parties and the upcoming 2008 parliamentary electionshttp://www.cmi.no/publications/file/?3103=opposition-parties-and-the-upcoming-2008 is probably the most relevant and authoritative source on Angolan political parties. The study is based on interviews with party officials, newspaper articles and a review of the few reports available on politics and political parties in Angola. Access the CMI report here.