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Angola changed from a One-party Marxist - Leninist system ruled by the MPLA to a formal multiparty democracy following the 1992 elections. President Dos Santos won the first round election with more than 49% of the vote to Jonas Savimbi 's 40%. A runoff never has taken place. The subsequent renewal of civil war and collapse of the Lusaka Protocol have left much of this process stillborn, but democratic forms exist, notably the National Assembly .
Currently, political power is concentrated in the Presidency. The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Prime Minister (currently Fernando Da Piedade Dias Dos Santos ) and Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers, composed of all government ministers and vice ministers, meets regularly to discuss policy issues. Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and fragmented. Courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review has never been constituted despite statutory authorization.

The 26-year long civil war has ravaged the country's political and social institutions. The UN estimates of 1.8 million Internally Displaced Person s (IDPs), while generally the accepted figure for war-affected people is 4 million. Daily conditions of life throughout the country and specifically Luanda (population approximately 4 million) mirror the collapse of administrative infrastructure as well as many social institutions. The ongoing grave economic situation largely prevents any government support for social institutions. Hospitals are without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without books, and public employees often lack the basic supplies for their day-to-day work.


EXECUTIVE BRANCH


  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/José_Eduardo_dos_Santos" class="copylinks">José Eduardo Dos Santos
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Popular_Movement_for_the_Liberation_of_Angola" class="copylinks">MPLA
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/21_September" class="copylinks">21 September 1979
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Prime_Minister_of_Angola" class="copylinks">Prime Minister
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Fernando_da_Piedade_Dias_dos_Santos" class="copylinks">Fernando Da Piedade Dias Dos Santos "Nando"
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Popular_Movement_for_the_Liberation_of_Angola" class="copylinks">MPLA
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/6_December" class="copylinks">6 December 2002