Clinton says Angola leader promises "timely" poll

LUANDA Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had promised her he would hold presidential elections "in a timely manner".

The main opposition group UNITA had urged Clinton to press the government not to delay the first post-war presidential election. It accuses dos Santos of delaying the election, initially scheduled for 2009, to extend his three-decade rule.

"He committed that the constitution would be completed and elections would be held under it in a timely manner, as soon as it could be done," Clinton told reporters traveling with her on a seven-nation trip to Africa.

Clinton met dos Santos for nearly an hour in Luanda on Monday and urged the government to implement promised reforms and do more to tackle corruption and hold promised elections.

"We underscored the importance of moving expeditiously to get the constitution done and then holding elections as soon as possible under the constitution. He was very positive in his reactions to the points we were making," she said.

Angola's foreign minister said on Monday after meeting Clinton that polls could be delayed for another year.

The top U.S. diplomat said dos Santos had explained that the country was trying to decide which sort of political system to adopt and was "consulting broadly" over how to move from a more French model to a U.S.-style election.

She said the two talked at length about a new "bilateral partnership" with the United States, including help with agriculture, energy security, health and military cooperation.

U.S.-Angolan ties have improved since the end of Angola's 27-year civil war in 2002. During the conflict Washington helped bankroll the losing side, UNITA, now the main opposition party.

But under the Bush administration ties were strained and Clinton's two-day trip was aimed at elevating relations with the oil-rich nation, which rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer and is a major supplier to the United States.

"The United States really believes in the potential of Angola," she told staff at the U.S. embassy in Luanda before going on to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. "We think it's a historical turning point," she added.

Clinton's 11-day trip to Africa ends on August 14. (Reporting by Sue Pleming; editing by Andrew Roche)