Angolan legislative election, 1980

Background

Angola was a colony of Portugal for more than 400 years from the 15th century. The demand for independence in Angola picked up momentum during the early 1950s. The Portuguese régime, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when freedom fighters attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola, which was called the Colonial War. The principal protagonists included the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), founded in 1956, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which appeared in 1961, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict that weakened all of the insurgent parties, Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état in Lisbon, Portugal, which overthrew the Portuguese régime headed by Marcelo Caetano.

Portugal's new revolutionary leaders began in 1974 a process of political change at home and accepted independence for its former colonies abroad. In Angola a fight for dominance broke out immediately between the three nationalist movements. The events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens, creating up to 300 000 destitute Portuguese refugees—the retornados. The new Portuguese government tried to mediate an understanding between the three competing movements, which was initially agreed by the movements, but later disagreed. After it gained independence in November 1975, Angola experienced a devastating civil war which lasted several decades. It claimed millions of lives and produced many refugees; it didn't end until 2002.

Following negotiations held in Portugal, itself experiencing severe social and political turmoil and uncertainty due to the April 1974 revolution, Angola's three main guerrilla groups agreed to establish a transitional government in January 1975. Within two months, however, the FNLA, MPLA and UNITA had started fighting each other and the country began splitting into zones controlled by rival armed political groups. The MPLA gained control of the capital Luanda and much of the rest of the country. With the support of the United States, Zaïre and South Africa intervened militarily in favour of the FNLA and UNITA with the intention of taking Luanda before the declaration of independence. In response, Cuba intervened in favor of the MPLA, which became a flash point for the Cold War. With Cuban support, the MPLA held Luanda and declared independence on 11 November 1975, with Agostinho Neto becoming the first president, though the civil war continued. At this time, most of the half-million Portuguese who lived in Angola – and who had accounted for the majority of the skilled workers in public administration, agriculture, industries and trade – fled the country, leaving its once prosperous and growing economy in a state of bankruptcy.

Criteria

The Unicameral Parliament of Angola was scheduled to be constituted with the 229 elected members for a period of three years after the elections. All Angolan citizens with 18 years of age were eligible to cast their vote. Citizens who were members of factional groups, had criminal record and who had not rehabilitated were barred from exercising their voting rights. The representatives of the provincial assemblies formed a college and they elected the representatives of the House of Parliament. The candidates were expected to be answerable to the citizens in public meetings, with their candidature approved by a majority in the province where they were getting nominated. As per a promulgation during 1975, the Council of Revolution was declared as the Supreme legislative body. A constitutional amendment on 19 August 1980 indicated that the Council would be replaced by a national people's assembly and there would be 18 elected assemblies.

Elections

Elections were held on 23 August 1980 for electoral colleges for choosing the electorates of the legislature. At the time, the country was a one-party state, with the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour (MPLA-PT) being the sole legal party. As a result, most candidates were members of the party, and those that were not were vetted to ensure that they were not elected to the colleges. The elected assemblies took oath on 11 November 1980 and José Eduardo dos Santos took oath as the first elected President of Angola during September 1980. The council of ministers were reorganized in March 1981.

The 229 representatives constituted 64 civil servants, 58 workers, 48 peasants, 20 members of defense or security forces, 7 intellectuals, 6 elements of state apparatus and 26 others. For most of 1975–1990, the MPLA organised and maintained a socialist régime. In 1990, when the Cold War ended, MPLA abandoned its ties to the Marxist–Leninist ideology and declared social democracy to be its official ideology, going on to win the 1992 general election. However, eight opposition parties rejected the elections as rigged,