Elections Held In Angola For The First Time In 16 Years

Luanda, Angola (AHN) - Angola held its first parliamentary elections Friday for the first time in 16 years.

The electoral exercise is part of the country's rebuilding efforts after the 27-year civil war ended. There are 14 parties that fielded candidates, though the poll is mainly between two long-time rivals, the MPLA Party and the opposition Unita Party.

The MPLA is expected to gain majority of the seats as eight million voters cast their ballots. The parliamentary election is supposed to be a dress rehearsal for a planned presidential election in 2009.

Voting in certain parts of the capital city of Luanda were chaotic, observed Luisa Morgantini, the head of the EU observer mission.

Among those who showed up early at precincts to vote was Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. "I think we have begun a new way of conducting politics and achieving certain aims in which competition, on the basis of respect and freedom, will be the focal point," dos Santos told BBC.