The National Assembly ( pt, Assembleia Nacional) is the
legislative branch
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
of the government of
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
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, coordina ...
. Angola is a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
country so the National Assembly is the only legislative chamber at the national level.
The 220 members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods. Ninety are elected in 18 five-seat constituencies, by
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
using the d'Hondt method. The other 130 are selected by
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
using closed lists, allocated proportionally to the nationwide vote tallies.
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...
) has held a majority in the Assembly since independence. Due to the
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
, elections were delayed for years until they were eventually held in
September 2008. The first elections under the new constitution were held in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, after a new constitution was adopted in 2010, increasing considerably the power of the President, and diminishing that of the National Assembly as well as that of the judiciary.
Jurisdiction
The Angolan government is composed of three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch comprises a 220-seat
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
legislature elected from both provincial and nationwide constituencies. On account of civil wars from independence, political power has been concentrated in the presidency. There are various temporary and permanent committees in the Assembly that help in the operational and administrative functions of the Assembly.
Selection of members
The Unicameral Parliament of Angola was scheduled was originally constituted with 229 elected members.
for a period of three years after the elections. All Angolan citizens with 18 years of age were eligible to cast their vote. Citizens who were members of factional groups, had criminal record and who had not rehabilitated were barred from exercising their voting rights. The representatives of the provincial assemblies formed a college and they elected the representatives of the House of Parliament. The candidates were expected to be answerable to the citizens in public meetings, with their candidature approved by a majority in the province where they were getting nominated. A constitutional amendment on 19 August 1980 indicated that the Council formed during interim would be replaced by a national people's assembly and there would be 18 elected assemblies.
[
]
Premises
The original building of the National Assembly from 1980, also called People's assembly was located in Estúdio/Restauração Cinema in urban district of Ingombota. The new building inaugurated on 9 November 2015 was initiated on 15 October 2009, while the construction started on 17 May 2010. It is a part of the Political Administrative Centre covering an area of 72,000 Sq.m and a built area of 54,000 sq.m. The Centre accommodates Presidential Palace, the Palace of Justice, the Defence Ministry, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Episcopal Palace and the premises of the former National Assembly headquarters. The New Assembly has 4,600 seats overall with 1,200 in meeting rooms. The compound has four blocks each with six floors, a basement parking that can accommodate 494 vehicles, out of which 34 is reserved for VIPs. The construction was carried out by Portuguese company Teixeira Duarte under the supervision of Special Works Office of the Government of Angola. The building was inaugurated by José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for ...
on 10 November 2015.
Performance of political parties
Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
won the 1980 and 1986 elections and became the first elected President of the country. At the time, the country was a one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
known as the Angolan People's Republic
The People's Republic of Angola () was the self-declared socialist state which governed Angola from its independence in 1975 until 25 August 1992, during the Angolan Civil War.
History
The regime was established in 1975, after Portuguese An ...
, with the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour ( MPLA-PT) as the sole legal party. As a result, most candidates were members of the party, and two-thirds were re-nominated from 1980 elections in the 1986 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1986.
Africa
* 1986 Angolan legislative election
* 1986 Gabonese presidential election
* 1986 Mozambican general election
* 1986 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election
* 1986 Somali presidential elec ...
. The civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
continued with UNITA fighting against the MLPA, with both parties taking international support. There was a cease-fire agreement during 1989, with the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, but it collapsed soon. As a part of its peace efforts, MLPA dropped its theme of Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...
and moved over to democratic socialism. During May 1991, Dos Santos and Savimbi signed a multiparty democracy agreement in Lisbon. Dos Santos won the 1992, 2008 and 2012 elections as well in the Presidency elections, but different parties started performing. During the 1992 elections, when the first multi-party elections were held, UNITA secured 34.1 per cent vote in the assembly and won 70 seats. But during the 2008 and 2012, their win was reduced to 16 and 32 seats respectively, while the ruling MPLA won 191 and 175 seats respectively.
See also
* List of presidents of the National Assembly of Angola
*Politics of Angola
The current political regime in Angola is presidentialism, in which the President of the Republic is also head of state and government; it is advised by a Council of Ministers, which together with the President form the national executive power. Le ...
*List of legislatures by country
This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included i ...
References
External links
Constitutional Commission
Page under construction
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Politics of Angola
Political organizations based in Angola
Angola
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Angola
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