The political framework of Angola

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders: President : Joao Manuel Goncalves LOURENCO (since 26 September 2017) - MPLA ; the president is both chief of state and head of government
Vice President: Esperanca Francisco DA COSTA (since 15 September 2022)
Next Election Dates: Presidential: 2027
Legislative: August 2027
Main Political Parties: The MPLA party remains the largest parliamentary force and has had no real political challengers since independence. The largest parties include:

- Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA): social democracy, secured 124 of 220 recognized seats for an absolute majority
- National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA): centre-right, the second-largest political party, strong grassroots support and is defined by its legacy as a guerrilla movement
- Humanist Party of Angola (PHA): split from UNITA, it was legalised by the Constitutional Court on 27 May 2022
- Social Renewal Party (PRS): centre-left
- National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA): centre-right
Executive Power: In Angola, executive power is held by the president and his government. The president is elected directly by the people and appoints the vice-president. The position of prime minister was abolished in 2010. The president appoints ministers, secretaries of state, and other key officials, and the government is not answerable to the National Assembly. He also appoints four of the seven judges of the Constitutional Court (including its president), judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Auditors, and High Military Court, as well as the Attorney General, provincial governors and vice-governors, and the governor of the National Bank of Angola. The president is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Legislative Power: Angola has a unicameral legislative system, with its parliament, the National Assembly, officially comprising 223 seats. Its members are elected by universal suffrage under a system of proportional representation for a five-year term. In practice, however, the National Assembly has only 220 members. It is responsible for passing laws, approving taxes, and overseeing government activities. However, the President of the Republic holds significant legislative power, which limits the Assembly’s effectiveness in exercising oversight over the government.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:: 103/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:: Not Free
Political Freedom:: 6/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

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