LUANDA-An EU observer has told the BBC there was vote-rigging in Angola, where the ruling MPLA is expected to win a landslide election victory.
Richard Howitt said the governing party had offered bribes in one province, while soldiers and MPLA officials appeared to have intimidated voters.
Other election observers have said the vote was transparent.
With more than two-thirds of the votes counted, the MPLA had 82% and the opposition Unita party 10.5%.
Final provisional results of the parliamentary poll are due later yesterday.
—The elections are the first in Angola for 16 years, and are seen as a crucial step in the country’s recovery from decades of civil war.
—Voting passed off peacefully on Friday, but organisation in parts of the capital, Luanda, was chaotic.
Unita has demanded a re-run in Luanda and is challenging the legality of the poll in the constitutional court.
Speaking from Brussels after his return from Angola, Mr. Howitt told the BBC’s Today programme that more than 300 polling stations in the capital did not open or lacked materials.
He welcomed the elections, but said observers should not cover up flaws “that sent warning signals about the kind of government we might see in this country in the future”.
The observer mission had heard reports of people being bussed over the border to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda from neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville to vote, he said.
“After a fairly tortuous journey... we came across the most phenomenal scene, where tents, marquees, beds, lavish food was there, and up to 1,500 people, five of whom we interviewed, and gave us evidence that this was all funded by the government.”
Mr. Howitt said there had been “massive hand-outs” of money, televisions, radios, alcohol, and even cars.
Voters had to pass soldiers lined up three-deep at the entrance to one polling station, he said.
“I personally saw representatives of the ruling party standing not just in the polling station, but in front of the booths where people were voting,” Mr Howitt said.
’Earlier, observers from the regional grouping, Southern African Development Community (Sadc), said the vote had been “transparent an
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