returned to Angola to discuss a cease-fire. Samakuva was elected as President of UNITA in 2003 at the party's ninth congress. In 2007, at the tenth congress, he was re-elected to the post, defeating Abel Chivukuvuku. Samakuva was the first candidate on UNITA's national list in the September 2008 legislative election. He was elected to a seat in the National Assembly in that election, but UNITA performed poorly, winning only 16 out of 220 seats. Despite the party's objections to problems in the electoral process, Samakuva announced on 8 September 2008 that UNITA accepted the election results. The UNITA Permanent Committee subsequently met to consider the outcome of the election and Samakuva's leadership, and on 19 September 2008 it said in a statement that it "reaffirm[ed] its confidence" in Samakuva, blaming the party's poor showing primarily on abuses by the governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). He resigned as UNITA leader in November 2019 and was succeeded by Adalberto Costa Júnior. References External links Biography on Africa Confidential Angolan rebels Members of the National Assembly (Angola) 1946 births Living people Angolan anti-communists People of the Angolan Civil War UNITA politicians People from Bié Province 20th-century Angolan people 21st-century Angolan people