 |
| Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been president of Angola since 1979 (AFP Photo/Alain Jocard) |
Luanda
(AFP) - Angola's iron-fisted ruler Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Africa's
second-longest serving leader, on Friday said he would quit in 2018 after his
current mandate ends, but experts were sceptical about his latest pledge to
step down.
"I
have taken the decision to quit political life in 2018," he told the
ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party politburo in
the capital Luanda.
It was the
73-year-old's third such announcement since he came to office in 1979. He has
been in office just one month less than Africa's record-holder, Equatorial
Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
The
president's tenure ends in late 2017, but he did not elaborate why he would
leave the year after. Analysts suggest he may run for re-election, leaving only
once he feels secure about the future.
In power
for almost four decades as president, dos Santos has consolidated political
power while his family has amassed a vast business empire.
He added
another five years to his reign by taking a large victory in a disputed
election in 2012, but since has faced growing discontent from the nation's
youth.
Critics
accuse dos Santos of overseeing corruption, misrule, arbitrary arrests and
intimidation.
Paula
Roque, expert researcher on Angola with the University of Oxford, believes that
the announcement offers "no assurance that one of Africa longest heads of
state will finally step down."
"What
he is saying by announcing that he will step down in 2018 is that he will run
in the next poll and then decide if the country is stable enough to step
down," said Roque.
Dos Santos
came to power in 1979, following the unexpected death from cancer of Angola's
liberation president Agostinho Neto.
As head of
the military, police and cabinet, the leader has an iron grip on all aspects of
power in Africa's second biggest oil producer.
He names
the senior judges and has MPLA allies in all public agencies, including the
supposedly independent electoral commission.
Analysts
believe that Dos Santos could be grooming one of his children to succeed him,
or will ensure that whoever succeeds him protects his family interests and will
not go after him or his family for looting state coffers.
Iron
fisted rule
Few
publicly criticise him. Independent journalists who express their opinions risk
criminal charges.
A group of
youth activists are currently standing trial on charges of
"rebellion" and attempting to carry out a "coup".
Dos
Santos's lengthy term in office has been marked by tense relations between his
MPLA party and war time rebels turned opposition, the National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
UNITA has
been significantly weakened since the killing of its founder Jonas Savimbi by
MPLA forces in 2002. His death paved the way for a peace deal that brought an
end to one of Africa's longest and bloodiest conflicts.
In 2014,
UNITA voiced concern over what it called the deteriorating state of democracy
under Dos Santos's rule.
"Dos
Santos was never elected, he will leave a negative legacy, having led Angola to
an alarming crisis," said Makuta Nkondo, a former UNITA opposition
lawmaker.
Although he
shuns the spotlight, the elderly leader's family has built up a vast business
empire, with his daughter Isabel dos Santos ranked Africa's richest woman.
Despite the
country's oil and diamond riches, the majority of the population live in abject
poverty, with an enormous gap between the rich and poor.
The fall in
oil prices has hit the economy, with the kwanza currency losing 35 percent if
its value against the dollar this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.