Tuesday September 2 2008 / Citizenship
Angola, the giant awakes
On 5 September 2008 the Angolans will go to the polls. This will be only the second election - the first was in 1992 - after independence from Portugal in 1975. After 1992 elections were postponed several times because of the bloody civil war. In 2002, after the death of the rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, a cease-fire was announced and work on rebuilding the country began.
Because of the bloody history, Angolan citizens are afraid that something will go wrong again as the election date approaches. But there are hopeful signs. The process of democratization has taken a careful course, people are starting to debate, and censorship is diminishing. This first free election in 16 years will offer Angola the opportunity to show that it can follow a different course from Zimbabwe and Kenya. What can the election offer the Angolans? Can it stimulate economic growth? Prominent Angola experts will discuss the forthcoming elections.
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