Un Special Representative declares Angolan elections 'generally free and fair.' (United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola Margaret J. Anstee) (includes related information on the UN Angola Verification Mission)

The first-ever multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections held in Angola were certified - "with all deficiencies taken into account" - on 17 October as "generally free and fair" by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola Margaret J. Anstee.

The electoral process, organized and directed by the National Electoral Council, was observed by the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II) and supported by technical assistance from the UN Development Programme.

Results of the elections - held on 29 and 30 September - gave 49.57 per cent of the vote to Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos who heads the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and 40.07 per cent to Jonas Savimbi, President of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The remainder were divided among nine other candidates.

Under Angola electoral rules, if a candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote, he would be declared the winner. But if no candidate obtained a majority, the two top contenders would compete in a run-off.

In the parliamentary elections, the governing MPLA party received 53.74 per cent, with UNITA getting 34.10 per cent.

In her 17 October statement following the official announcement of the election results by the National Electoral Council, Ms. Anstee noted that the electoral campaign had been conducted without major violent incidents.

As a result of complaints by the Angolan parties that there had been widespread, massive and systematic irregularities and fraud during the entire electoral process, four commissions, established by the Electoral Council, investigated the allegations and such matters as the consistency of polling records, the security of ballot boxes, the control of surplus electoral kits and supplementary polling stations, she said.

Following the investigations, Ms. Anstee said the UN considered that, "while there were certainly some irregularities in the electoral process, these appear to have been mainly due to human error and inexperience".

There was no conclusive evidence "that the irregularities were of a magnitude to have a significant effect on the results", she added. "Nor, in view of their random nature, could it be determined that such irregularities had penalized or beneffited only one party or set of parties".

The UN urged all Angolans, including all political leaders, to respect and support the results of this stage of the electoral process, Ms...