ico,
Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Independence:
11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Constitution:
11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March
1991, and 26 August 1992; note - new constitution has not yet been
approved

Legal system:
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently
modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of
free markets

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and
head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was
appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a
position of real power
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year
term; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without
opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in
Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be
held September 2006)
election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a
run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)
repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats;
members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%,
others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD
3, others 7

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the
president)

Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA];
National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed
leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA], largest
opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular
Movement for t