LUANDA, Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) - The leader of Angola's main opposition Unita party has denied this year's landmark parliamentary elections could trigger a new period of unrest in the war-torn country.

Rejecting parallels with the violence that followed Kenya's recent polls, Isaias Samakuva said Angola would avoid a repeat of its last elections 16 years ago when the country slid back into civil war after Unita rejected the result.

'We had a bitter lesson in 1992. It's enough,' Samakuva told the weekly Cruzeiro do Sul newspaper.

'We don't need to look to Kenya to reflect on our own situation. We just need to look back at our own lessons. In fact, we have plenty of lessons to teach Kenyans.'

Parliamentary elections scheduled for September will be the first to be held in Angola since the southwest African nation ended a 27-year civil in 2002 in which half a million people were killed.

There was a brief lull in fighting in 1992 when Unita and its then leader Jonas Savimbi agreed to contest joint parliamentary and presidential polls.

However a second round of voting never took place after Unita accused the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of rigging the first phase and then resumed its armed conflict.

Samakuva said he would like a formal agreement with dos Santos to avoid violence during this year's elections.

'What we want is tranquillity and serenity before and after elections. I think we should rise to a pact which will guarantee physical and property protection for all Angolans so they won't fear elections,' he said.

Announcing the date of the elections late last month, dos Santos urged voters to 'express themselves with ... no violence and respect of different opinions'.