Democracy is Not the Answer

Angola held its one and only presidential election in 1992. Incumbent president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, led after the first round of voting against UNITA's Jonas Savimbi. International observers deemed the election to be generally free and fair. However, dos Santos did not win the required 50% of the vote needed to claim the presidency outright. As a result, a runoff election between dos Santos and Savimbi should have taken place. It didn't. Savimbi rejected the results and what has been deemed the worst part of Angola's 40-year war broke out in 1992, lasting until 1994.

Dos Santos's term was suppose to be 5 years. However, the government claimed the lack of a second round of voting and the war were enough reason to scrap that limit. The Lusaka Protocol, which followed the 1992-1994 phase of the war, called for speedy elections. No elections were held as a result of the Lusaka Protocol and the war resumed in 1998. UNITA was defeated militarily in 2002, the same year their autocratic leader, Savimbi, was killed. As a result, the government held all of the cards. The government continuously promised to hold elections. In 2008, a flawed parliamentary election was held. A presidential election has yet to be held.

At this point, a presidential election will do nothing except to legitimize dos Santos, his cronies, and their exploitation of Angola's natural wealth. Angola cannot offer a valid opposition. An election would not be based on issues. While dos Santos would have a tremendous advantage over any opponent, because of his access to state resources, even a change of power would not aid the average Angolan. The system is set up to benefit a small group in charge, whether they be members of the MPLA, which is the current party in power, UNITA, or any other group. There are no checks on corruption. Much of the nation's vast oil wealth goes unaccounted for. This allows people in power to steal that money- evidence of which can be traced to foreign bank accounts held by prominent members of Luandan society. Civil society is too weak to do anything about the corruption. Independent journalists are often harassed or worse.

Barring a radical revolution within Angola, which is unlikely given the war fatigue of the nation, the country's best hope might be a profound change in the actions of the international community. With the U.S. desperate to find sources of oil outside the contentious region of the Middle East, Angolan oil has become more desirable. As a result, the flaws of Angola's leadership are ignored. The powers that be in Angola are allowed to profit from the U.S.’s predicament. Demanding accountability for oil dollars and taking the pro-active stance of creating alternative sources of fuel are two things the U.S. and the wider international community can do to help Angola. (for more on Angola, International Affairs Edition of The HQT)