Africa-Press – Angola. The chairman of the MPLA Parliamentary Group, Virgílio de Fontes Pereira, expressed his availability for an open, constructive and responsible debate on the Bill on Freedom of Assembly and Demonstration.
The referred project, of UNITA’s legislative initiative, was approved Thursday, in general, in the Parliament, with 172 votes in favor and none against.
According to Fontes Pereira, the availability for open, constructive and responsible debate has the purpose of “defending the ever-increasing realization of the rights, freedoms and fundamental guarantees of citizens”.
“Condescending with some irregularities detected, a priori, in this project, indicators of unconstitutionality, the MPLA proposes, during the specific discussion, to make its contribution in defense of the interests of citizens and of the State, as well as the protection of property public and private that are exposed to the exercise of the right of Assembly and Demonstration”, he stressed.
Virgílio de Fontes Pereira made it known that the MPLA will also promote the constitutional conformation and updates of the strike, trade union and state of exception laws.
In his political declaration, Virgílio de Fontes Pereira emphasized that, despite the existing political divergences between parties, these should not be led to antagonism.
“Despite these divergences, we need to unite, join synergies to build the great Angolan homeland and leave a legacy of unity for future generations”, he pointed out.
For its part, UNITA, in its political declaration, defends an agenda of consolidation of the rule of law, political, economic and cultural democracy, open society, free press, independent and credible judiciary and the reinforcement of the supervisory role of the National Assembly .
“Our agenda is participatory democracy, good governance, sustainable development in Angola, as well as the implementation of municipalities in all 164 municipalities in the country and simultaneously in 2024”, declared the leader of the UNITA Parliamentary Group, Liberty Chiaka .
The UNITA deputy, who harshly criticized the government’s actions, requested that Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry (CPI) be set up on the activities of the direct, indirect, independent administration and autonomous funds that manage public resources.
“It is urgent for the National Assembly to carry out a CPI on the public debt, on public procurement processes with a focus on direct adjudication (…)”, he maintained.
He reiterated, however, his party’s readiness for inclusive, open and honest dialogue.
He also appealed to the MPLA to govern with “republican ethics, human sensitivity, strategic vision and transparency, to create sustainability and prosperity”.
The diploma, with 20 articles, intends to revoke Law no 16/91, of 11 May – Law on the Right to Assembly and Demonstration, currently in force.
According to the proponent, this diploma intends to regulate freedom of assembly and demonstration as a guarantee right within the framework of fundamental rights.
It also intends to define the rights related to the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration, prohibiting the presence and participation of military and militarized forces – in uniform or in civilian clothes – in meetings of a political nature and in any type of demonstration.
Likewise, it establishes specific and reasonable limits both for the exercise of the right to demonstrate and for preventing it.
It also describes the ban on carrying and using weapons in meetings and public or private demonstrations and typifies the abuses, crimes and sanctions that protesters, police agents and other interveners may incur.
The 7th Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the 1st Legislative Session of the Fifth Legislature of the National Assembly, chaired by its President, Carolina Cerqueira, was attended by the President of the Legislative Assembly of Sudan and acting President of the Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (FP-CIRGL), Jemma Nunu Kumba.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
