$QJROD ,QWURGXFWLRQ In 2012, the Angolan political landscape was dominated almost entirely by the preparation and organisation of the country’s first general elections under the new constitution, approved in 2010. For the media, the elections were an important test of its credibility, with a performance that was far from deserving of consensus, but in general, with poor grades accorded to the performance of the public media for their bias and lack of impartiality. 3ROLWLFDO/DQGVFDSH According to the new Constitution - boycotted by UNITA, the largest opposition party – Angola no longer has presidential and legislative elections held separately, these having made way for general elections that at once elect members of the National Assembly (unicameral parliament) and - indirectly - the President of the Republic. In terms of a political system, the new and controversial Angolan constitutional model in the assessment of its critics was designed exclusively to serve the interests of the continuation and perpetuation in power of President José Eduardo dos 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\" Santos (JES) and the MPLA, which have ruled the country for more than 37 years, i.e. since Angola became independent on 11 November 1975. The single party list was thus adopted as the main instrument for the vote, each party with its list, with the first two names on each list automatically the candidates for the presidency and vicepresidency of the republic, with the remaining members competing for the 230 seats available in parliament. In terms of the system, it is not necessary to get 50% of the vote, thus making it possible for candidates and the party with the most votes to be declared winners without a runoff election. The MPLA won the elections held in August 2012 with more than 70% of the vote, which corresponds to a qualified majority that allows it to govern the country without any kind of political difficulty. UNITA, which had a better showing than in the previous election in 2008, challenged the officially declared results across the board, accusing the Government of having promoted and organised an extensive electoral fraud. Even after all the appeals at the level of election disputes were rejected by the competent authorities, especially the Constitutional Court, UNITA announced that it would