Angolan Elections Set for Aug. 31 Angola's president says national parliamentary elections will be held Aug. 31. In a press release Wednesday, the president also announced the appointment of Edeltrudes Costa as the electoral commission's interim president. The former electoral commission president had to step down after opposition parties challenged her appointment. She was not a judge and Angolan law requires a judge lead the commission. In 2010, Angola's parliament changed the constitution so that parliament, not the people, would elect the president. Critics had said giving parliament such power will only further entrench President Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979. Dos Santos says the method others in the region use to pick presidents is more efficient and less costly.