Angola held general elections on August 31, 2012, reaffirming the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, MPLA) party's position in power and for the first time awarding incumbent José Eduardo dos Santos, in power for 33 years, the presidency through a vote.

The MPLA, which has ruled Angola since 1975, secured the two-thirds majority in parliament—175 out of 220 seats—sufficient to amend the constitution without opposition support. Forty percent of eligible voters did not vote. The constitutional court rejected fraud complaints from three opposition parties for lack of evidence. The main opposition party, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, UNITA), filed an additional complaint at the constitutional court challenging the constitutionality of acts by the national electoral commission (NCE) during the preparations of the elections. At this writing, the complaint remained pending.

The elections were generally peaceful during the campaign and on polling day, yet fell short of international and regional standards. The playing field for political parties was uneven, with unequal access to state resources; the media was overwhelmingly dominated by the MPLA and the elections oversight body sided with the ruling party by not taking any action when the ruling party violated electoral laws. As during the last national elections in 2008, independent observation of the elections was seriously hampered by massive delays and restrictions in the accreditation of domestic and international observers and international journalists.

The elections took place in a more restricted environment for the media, free expression and peaceful assembly than in 2008. Numerous incidents of violence by apparent police in plain clothes against peaceful protesters and activists in the months before the elections contributed to a climate of fear.

Elections

The CNE, despite a more balanced composition than in 2008, was not able or willing to fulfill its role as an impartial oversight body. The CNE failed to address major violations of electoral laws, including unequal access of parties to the public media and ruling party abuse of state resources and facilities. Moreover, the CNE hampered independent observation through the massively delayed, restrictive, and selective accreditation of domestic and international observers.