By Paul Simao
LUANDA (Reuters) - Voting in Angola's parliamentaryelection resumed on Saturday for an unscheduled second dayafter widespread delays prevented voters from casting ballotson Friday, the African nation's state-run media reported.
The election, Angola's first for 16 years, is largely arace between the ruling MPLA and opposition UNITA party. It hasbeen keenly watched by the international community because ofcontroversy marring recent African polls and Angola's emergenceas a major oil producer.
Polling stations in the province of Luanda opened at 7 a.m.and were expected to close at 7 p.m., Radio Nacional de Angolasaid. The province is home to more than 20 percent of Angola's8.3 million registered voters.
Scores of precincts failed to open on time on Friday andothers did so hours late, preventing some residents in thecapital Luanda and surrounding areas from voting.
Problems with voter registration lists were cited as themain cause of the delays.
It was not clear if the voting extension would satisfyUNITA. Its leader, Isaias Samakuva, described the process onFriday as a "mess" and demanded that the poll be redone.
Tensions between UNITA (National Union for the TotalIndependence of Angola) and the MPLA (Popular Movement for theLiberation of Angola) have simmered since the former rebelgroup ended its 27-year war against the state in 2002.
In the run-up to the poll, UNITA accused the MPLA of usingstate funds for its campaign and the state-run media topublicise its cause. It also said its supporters had beenharassed, a charge backed by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
The government has denied any electoral wrongdoing.
The MPLA, which has governed the country since independencefrom Portugal in 1975, is widely expected to win the election.The party had held 129 of 220 parliamentary seats, with theremainder controlled by UNITA and a handful of smaller parties.
Angola's government has touted the poll as a showcase forits recovery from the civil war and hopes that it will spurfurther foreign investment. Angola rivals Nigeria assub-Saharan Africa's biggest oil producer.
Angolans last voted in 1992 in joint parliamentary andpresidential elections. Then, the presidential race was abortedafter UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi withdrew, accusing MPLA leaderJose Eduardo dos Santos of cheating his way to victory.
Savimbi then led his supporters back into the bush wherethe rebel group resumed its war against the government. Anestimated half a million people died in the conflict, whichended after Savimbi was killed in an ambush in 2002.
(Editing by Catherine Evans)
