General elections were held in Angola on 29 and 30 September 1992 to elect a President and National Assembly, the first time free and multi-party elections had been held in the country. They followed the signing of the Bicesse Accord on 31 May 1991 in an attempt to end the 17-year-long civil war.[1] Voter turnout was 91.3% for the parliamentary election and 91.2% for the presidential election.[2]
The ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won both elections; however eight opposition parties, in particular the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), rejected the results, accusing it of being rigged. UNITA sent negotiators to the capital, but at the same time prepared measures to resume the civil war. As a consequence, hostilities erupted in Luanda and immediately spread to other parts of the country. Several thousand to tens of thousands of UNITA members or supporters were killed nationwide by MPLA forces in a few days, in what is known as the Halloween Massacre.
