Ex-Angola Rebel Sees Vote Fraud, Hints at Warfare
Former rebel chief Jonas Savimbi, his UNITA movement trailing in Angola’s first multi-party elections, accused the government of fraud Saturday and made a veiled threat to return to guerrilla warfare.
But the United Nations and Savimbi’s former U.S. backers challenged him to provide proof of any widespread irregularities in the voting Tuesday and Wednesday.
Savimbi said the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government was manipulating the National Electoral Commission (CNE) in the presidential and parliamentary vote.
He rejected commission figures showing that, with half the 4.8 million votes counted, the MPLA and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had nearly 60% compared to 30% for his National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
“The CNE should take into consideration that all its maneuvers and false numbers will oblige UNITA to take a position which could disturb the situation in the country,” Savimbi said in a broadcast. “There are men and women who are ready to give their lives so that the country can be free.”
Diplomats said it was ironic that Savimbi launched his charges just as he was gaining ground. Returns from his rural strongholds chipped the MPLA lead from 70% to 57%.
International observers monitoring the vote say the Electoral Commission is neutral. The observers have praised the voting.
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