National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Constitution:
adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992
Legal system:
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently
modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of
free markets
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and
head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was
appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year
term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under
the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in
1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for
reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September
1992 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI
40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held
and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war
resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats;
members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September
2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%,
other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD
3, other 7
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed
by the president)
Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA];
National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed
leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA] (largest
opposition party); Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or
MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS] (ruling party in power since 1975);
Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA,
Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections
but only won a few seats; they and the other 115 smaller parties
have little influence in the National Assembly
Political pressure groups and leaders: Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE] note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province has largely ended
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS
(observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO