VZCZCXRO0688
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #1049/01 2891414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161414Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4368
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 001049 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA REPORTS PROGRESS TOWARDS ELECTIONS IN 2008 
 
REF: LUANDA 971 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: During a briefing for the Diplomatic Corps, 
Virgilio Fontes Pereira, the Minister of Territorial 
Administration and head of the Interdepartmental Committee on 
the Electoral Process (CIPE) suggested President Dos Santos 
would announce the date for parliamentary elections by early 
¶2008.  Fontes Pereira added the long delayed pre-electoral 
period allowed the GRA time to build confidence in Angola's 
electoral process by ensuring the participation of opposition 
parties early on and expanding lines of communication to the 
country's rural areas, but acknowledged many Angolans 
(especially the rural poor and uneducated) fear elections 
will bring a return to civil war.  A robust voter education 
program, including the participation of local civil society, 
could help counter these concerns.  It will be difficult to 
depoliticize voter education, however, given the MPLA's 
strong grip on government institutions.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Elections in 2008 - No, Really, This Time We Mean It 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2. (U) On October 11, the GRA briefed the diplomatic corps on 
the recently completed registration process and next steps in 
the run-up to parliamentary elections expected in 2008. 
According to Fontes Pereira, the registration of 8.039 
million voters over the ten-month registration period was 
"credible, universal, and transparent."  Fontes Pereira added 
that the successful registration process had created 
conditions which would allow the President to call for 
parliamentary elections in 2008, most likely in 
September-October.  The Minister suggested President Dos 
Santos would announce the date for parliamentary elections 
during the first quarter of 2008 to allow the CIPE to conduct 
a one-month supplemental registration period to register 
voters who will turn 18 by election day. 
 
--------------------- 
It Was Worth the Wait 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Fontes Pereira described for diplomats the conditions 
in Angola set against the GRA's 2004 decision to develop a 
comprehensive voter administration system to support 
parliamentary and presidential elections.  He said post 
conflict Angola had just emerged from nearly 30 years of 
civil war.  Roads were in poor condition, bridges had been 
destroyed, and mine fields severed lines of communication. 
The flow of refugees and the dislocation of community 
settlements made identification of citizens and population 
centers difficult.  Many areas were inaccessible and 
political dialogue was non-existent.  Between 60-70 percent 
of registered voters did not have an identification document. 
 Fontes Pereira said, "The stigma of the failures of Angola's 
electoral system had to be overcome."  In the minds of many, 
especially older rural Angolans, elections equaled civil war. 
 He added that the GRA's registration brigades found pockets, 
especially in rural areas, where residents did not know the 
civil war was over. 
 
¶4. (U) Fontes Perreira then outlined how the GRA began its 
electoral process by demining lines of communication and 
improving roads.  Refugees started to return and key bridges 
were replaced.  The government began reaching out to citizens 
to build confidence in state institutions.  The GRA fostered 
an inclusive dialogue with political parties to develop a new 
law for elections, ensuring political parties participated in 
every decision.  When the parties asked for more time for 
consultations or registration, it was given. NGOs and civil 
society reviewed and monitored the GRA's progress.  Efforts 
toward peace and democracty in Angola have failed, Fontes 
Pereira said, because UNITA leaders did not believe their 
rural supporters were properly included in the process.  This 
time, he said, GRA registration brigades had access to all 
parts of the country and identified areas where low 
registration figures required increased attention.  The 
quality of the work done over the past 3 years by the 
combined efforts of all stakeholders, concluded Fontes 
Pereira, is reflected in the successful registration of over 
8 million Angolans. 
 
-------------------- 
Comment - Next Steps 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Angola's successful completion of voter registration 
is an important step forward in eventual elections.  while 
many doubted 2008 elections a few months ago, it seems that 
the current conventional wisdom is that legislative elections 
will take place in 2008.  There still is a long road ahead, 
however, especially in convincing many voters that an 
 
LUANDA 00001049  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
election will not mean another descent into civil war.  Urban 
Angolans are calling for an election, but rural voters are 
still suspicious.  It was the perceived disenfranchisement of 
rural voters that many credit as the root case for the civil 
war starting up again after the last elections, and no one 
wants to repeat that.  As a result, voter and civic education 
must be a high priority for the GRA, local civil society, and 
international partners. While they agree with the need for 
greater voter education, opposition groups worry that the 
MPLA. who has control of many of the institutions that would 
be involved in government civic education efforts, will use 
these  activities to spread its political branding and 
message. We still have a long way to go towards elections, 
however, and continued and strengthened engagement both 
bilaterally and through regional and international groups is 
needed to help keep the process moving forward. 
FERNANDEZ