Angola held its first elections in 16 years on Friday.  During the time I was there there were constant rallies (mostly supporting the main party and forgone concluded victor, the MPLA) and general chaos, with everything from random scooter parades of teenagers in party t-shirts waving flags to a quad-bike rally on the beach on the isthmus called the Ihla where it seemed at 10AM I was the only one who wasn’t completely hammered.

Part of me wishes I could have stayed in Angola during the elections, most of me is glad I left to avoid getting caught in anything.

Like many "democracies" in Africa, it’s not really an election, but as long as there is oil money and enough people close to the president are getting rich (and they are!), peace will probably hold.

More reading here.