Protests in Angola are quickly and violently repressed, but they clearly rattled a government that never allows any show of dissent.
Unita accuses Dos Santos of using his power and money to strengthen his control over the state, and has campaigned promising a better democracy.
Party leader Isaias Samakuva has lambasted the organisation of the elections, citing worries about accreditation of observers and the failure to make a public audit of the 9.7 million names on the voter roll.
With only 10 percent of votes in the last poll, Unita needs a strong showing to prove it remains relevant, particularly after a bruising split that saw a top party official form the new Casa party with a high-profile defector from the MPLA.
Casa has made in-roads among young voters with promises of better jobs and homes, but it is unclear of the party’s reach since its creation in April.
“The MPLA will be the winner of the elections, but it is going to have to address the dissenters over the next five years,” said Bango Serra, of the Angolan civic group Justice, Peace and Democracy.
“This dissent will first centre on the results, because of doubts about the organisation of the polls, then on the party’s social policies,” he said.
Former Cape Verde president Pedro Verona Pires, chief of the African Union’s observer team, described the poll’s organisation as “satisfactory” and said that initial reports showed voting had proceeded well.
In 2008, chaos at the polls forced the government to allow a second day of voting. Friday’s balloting appeared to have gone smoothly, and police in Luanda said no incidents had been reported.
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