Violence Greets Angola Vote Results

Violence flared in Angola on Saturday after results from last month’s vote gave the ruling MPLA a big win for Parliament but necessitated a runoff between rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and incumbent Jose Eduardo dos Santos for president.

At least one man was killed in a shootout when jubilant MPLA supporters drove by a central Luanda hotel housing officials of former civil war foe Savimbi’s UNITA, police said. Both sides blamed the other for the confrontation.

The government, meanwhile, accused UNITA troops of occupying MPLA offices and killing several people in Savimbi’s highland stronghold of Huambo.

Angola’s 10 million people have been waiting for more than two weeks for the final results of the Sept. 29-30 poll, which were delayed by Savimbi’s charges of vote rigging and threats of war.

The National Electoral Council said Dos Santos won 49.57% against Savimbi’s 40.07%, forcing a second round. The formerly Marxist MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) won 53.74% in the race for Parliament seats versus 34.10% for UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola). The rest was shared among nine other candidates and 16 small parties.