Angola's unequal election campaign

Angola's election campaign officially lasts one month. The ruling party MPLA opened its bid for re-election in Viana, a suburb of the capital Luanda at the end of July. The former liberation movement has been in power since Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975. There have only been two other elections, in 1992 and 2008. The third will be held on August 31.

Presidential elections in Angola have always faltered. Jose Eduardo dos Santos has ruled the country for 32 years without a legitimate democrat mandate. The 1992 elections were interrupted by the resumption of civil war. In 2010 direct presidential elections were struck from the constitution. In these parliamentary elections the president tops the MPLA's list of candidates.

As the ruling party, the MPLA has lavish means at its disposal for its election campaign, which are denied to the opposition. Brazilian marketing experts have been hired to give the MPLA campaign a professional gloss. The MPLA also controls almost all radio and television stations. There is virtually no free press outside the capital Luanda.

The Angolan government built several stadiums for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations which are now used for political rallies, such as the "Election Party" for President dos Santos in June. It was held in the Estadio 11 de Novembro in Luanda. The MPLA filled all 50,000 seats, but the opposition accuses it of having paid people to take part.

Numerous huge buildings have sprung up in recent years, not just in the capital Luanda but in cities in the country's interior such as Huambo (photo taken in 2009). Portuguese, Brazilian and Chinese contractors have been building office towers, roads and railways.

With 22 storeys and standing almost 100 meters tall, the headquarters of the state-owned oil company Sonangol in Ingombota district is one of Luanda's more striking landmarks. The concern oversees the lion's share of Angola's petrodollar billions. Not all of the proceeds are transferred to the treasury, some go directly into building projects. Critics say a lot of this money seeps away.

The slums of Luanda contrast starkly with the shiny steel and glass of the building boom. Most of Luanda's population of between five and six million live in such accommodation, which often has neither electricity nor running water. Poorer residents of Luanda are suffering badly from an increase in the cost of living brought about by the oil boom. Only Tokyo is more expensive than Luanda.

Poverty hurts Angola's rural population worst of all. Two thirds live in "absolute poverty" according to UN data. A third have never been enrolled in school. Health care is inadequate. Angola's high infant mortality rate means that every sixth child dies before the age of five.

Drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring, young people across Angola have been protesting against social injustice and President dos Santos since last year. Police and loyalist militia have clamped down brutally on these rare signs of public dissent.

All parties running against the ruling MPLA are forced to run their campaigns with modest resources. The opening campaign rally of the newly formed opposition CASA-CE party in front of party headquarters was far less lavish than that mounted by the MPLA. Eight parties are running against the MPLA. Some, however, are actually controlled by the MPLA.

Supporters of the CASA-CE hope the opposition will improve on their showing in 2008. Then their opponents, the ruling MPLA, secured an overwhelming 81.6 percent of the vote. With 191 of the 220 seats, the MPLA dominates parliament and can rewrite the constitution unimpeded. Observers believe the MPLA will win again in 2012.