elections, page-2

...At stake in this election:
220 seats in the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional)
Description of government structure:
Chief of State: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS
Head of Government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS
Assembly: Angola has a unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) with 223 seats.
Description of electoral system:
The President is elected by direct popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
In the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) 223 members are elected by party-list system with proportional distribution of seats to serve 4-year terms.***
*** Due to the civil war, elections were not held at four-year increments; the members elected in 1992 had their terms in office extended through July 15, 2008

Main parties in the electoral race:
Party: Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Workers' Party / Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (MPLA)
Leader: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS
Seats won in last election: 129
Party: National Union for the Total Independence of Angola / União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA)
Leader: Isaias SAMAKUVA
Seats won in last election: 70
Party: Social Renewal Party / Partido de Renovação Social (PRS)
Leader: Eduardo KUANGANA
Seats won in last election: 6
Party: Angolan National LIberation Front / Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (FNLA)****
Leader: Ngola KABANGU
Seats won in last election: 5
Party: Liberal Democratic Party / Partido Liberal Democrático (PLD)
Leader: Anaila de Victoria PEREIRA
Seats won in last election: 3
**** Angola's Constutional Court (TC) rulled in July 2008 that the FNLA faction led by Lucas NGONDA was illegal. As a result, KABANGU has been legitimated as party leader.

Population and number of registered voters:
Population: 12,531,357 (July 2008 est.)
Registered Voters: 8,302,657 ( 2008 )!!!