Angola may not be able to hold elections next year, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said on Wednesday, hinting at yet another delay in the oil-rich African country's first polls since 1992, according to Reuters. Dos Santos told a consultative body made up of members of both the ruling MPLA and opposition parties that technical issues and the question of whether to hold presidential and legislative polls simultaneously made it difficult to envision they would occur as expected. "If we believe that we will need a few more months to carry out the tasks planned, it will be hard for us to hold elections (next year)," he said. Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer, has been stable since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002 with the formerly Marxist MPLA firmly in power and the former UNITA rebel group recast as an opposition party. But elections are seen as a political milestone for the country and essential in establishing democracy after the end of the conflict. Registration of eligible voters among the country's 13 million people began in November but paused for the holiday season. The process is due to start up again on Jan. 15 and end in mid-June. That suggests the vote, originally scheduled for 2006 but then delayed, could occur in late 2007 although many political observers say there is little will among ruling party leaders to hold a ballot any time soon. Dos Santos said Angola's constitution, which gives the president a five-year term and legislators a four-year term, argued against a joint election -- a move which could effectively extend the president's tenure. "If we follow this principle (of the constitution), they should not be held at the same time," he said. He also said the registration process was likely to take longer than planned, but gave no details on what he saw as the likely time-frame for the eventual election. "The preparatory process of elections has entered into a decisive phase and we can consider this process as irreversible," dos Santos said. "We will ensure that (elections) are transparent and done with security so that the results express the will of the Angolan people," he added. Angola's presidential and legislative elections were held simultaneously in 1992 -- but a second round of presidential voting did not take place and government and rebels returned to fighting for the next decade.
