Angola says voter data ready ahead of September electionsBy ARNALDO VIEIRA in Luanda | Wednesday, May 16  2012 at  13:00

Angola has managed to capture the data of 9.79 million registered voters ahead of key legislative elections set for September this year, the government has said.

The country's minister of Territory Administration, Mr Bornito de Sousa, while handing the computerised voter list to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), said the government would now get down to planning polling stations.

"We are now ready to cooperate with the CNE in the tasks of mapping of polling stations and [auditing the main registration file]," Mr de Sousa said.

The commission would now look to educate voters in the vast southern Africa country, its head said.

"The National Electoral Commission has already approved the strategy for the civic electoral education campaign that involves the engagement of the organisations of civil society of recognised reliability," Ms Suzana Inglês said.

“The strategy defines the partnership with the associations and organisations that will be the main transmitters of the electoral message to the whole country."

Legal awareness

The polls manager has also approved regulation for its organs tasked with organising, executing and leading the electoral process at local level, in line with national electoral laws.

Angola Attorney General João Maria de Sousa recently announced the start of national programme to communicate rules of engagement ahead of the election.

"The programme will involve magistrates of the prosecuting counsel," he said adding that his institution aims at raising citizens' legal awareness.

"The divulgence of laws on electoral package countrywide will enable to settle questions related to eventual conflicts that may result before, during and after the elections," said the AG.

Angola's President is elected indirectly by parliamentarians and is the head of the party with the largest representation following a constitutional amendment in 2010.

Mr Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his ruling MPLA have been in power since 1979 and are expected to be voted back into power, in part due to a fractured opposition.

Some eight million voters registered for the 2008 elections.