INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS Angola: Chronicle of an unfulfilled promise A hundred days after the elections Sylvia Croese January 2013 n After ten years of peace with much economic growth but little social development, the 2012 elections have resulted in a contested victory for the long-term incumbent MPLA. While observers such as the African Union(AU) and the Southern African De­velopment Community(SADC) considered the elections to be free, fair and transpar­ent, the European Union and the United States took note of the electoral complaints by the opposition and civil society. n Despite a booming economy and rising GDP per capita levels, Angola is still placed in the low human development category, ranking 148 out of 187 countries in 2011 and classified as one of the most unequal societies in the world. This inequality is not only economic, but also geographic, with economic growth mostly concentrated in Luanda. n The dissatisfaction with skyrocketing prices in the housing market illustrates exem­plarily the growing disconnect between the Angolan government and the people. It represents the feeling amongst many Angolans that it is not poverty that is being combatted, but the poor themselves for whom there is little place in the post-war narrative of reconstruction, development and modernization. n In the face of growing civic discontent, a reinvigorated opposition and administra­tive and economic challenges for successful public policy implementation, this paper argues that the coming years will be crucial for the MPLA to deliver on its promises.