Angola’s Upcoming Elections: Attacks on the Media, Expression, and Assembly

On August 31, 2012, Angola will hold its second parliamentary elections since the end, in 2002, of the decades-long civil war. As the official election campaign starts in August, one month before the elections, the human rights environment is hardly conducive for free, fair, and peaceful elections. This paper highlights the key human rights concerns ahead of the elections, and makes recommendations to the government of Angola, the Southern African Development Community, and the diplomatic community in Angola.