Lets hope this lot know how to bury the hatchet! EU and US see Angola elections as a good example Fri 29 Aug 2008, 14:36 GMT
[-] Text [+] LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's parliamentary election next week could serve as a model of democracy for other African nations, Western observers said on Friday.
Angola hopes to set an example for Africa with its first parliamentary vote in 16 years after flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe.
"The current environment is a very good one," Jose Gabriel, deputy chief of the EU observer mission in Angola, told Reuters on Friday.
"If we look back on previous elections in Angola we realise that these elections are likely to be a major stepping stone for the democratisation process of Angola and Africa."
U.S. ambassador to Angola, Dan Mozena, agreed: "Angola's legislative election has a potential to be a model for the coming elections in Africa if all the actors continue to play their part."
"There are a lot of expectations in regards to this election," he said in comments broadcast on Radio Ecclesia.
Angolans go to the polls on September 5, the first time after a devastating 27-year civil war between the government and rebels from the main opposition party UNITA ended in 2002.
The oil-rich nation's last election in 1992 proved to be a fiasco, leading to war between the ruling MPLA and the UNITA party.
A total of 14 parties will vie for 220 parliamentary seats in parliament
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