Africa-Press – Angola. The Plenary of the National Assembly (AN) failed, this Saturday, the initiative process of indictment and dismissal of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, formalized by the UNITA Parliamentary Group.
The Plenary voted not to create an Occasional Commission on the Process of Accusation and Dismissal of the President of the Republic”, signed by 90 deputies from the UNITA Parliamentary Group, which should prepare an opinion report to continue the process.
The Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the 2nd Legislative Session of the V Legislature of the National Assembly followed paragraph c) of article 42, in conjunction with paragraph of article 44, both of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.
UNITA’s initiative was rejected with 123 votes against (MPLA and PHA) and one abstention from the PRS.
UNITA, the proponent of the initiative, did not participate in the voting process, due to alleged procedural irregularities.
The first secretary of the Bureau of the National Assembly, Manuel Lopes Dembo, regretted the attitude of the deputies of the UNITA Parliamentary Group due to their failure to observe ethics and parliamentary decorum.
“We must base our actions on a deep connection with the Constitution, regulations and parliamentary ethics”, said the deputy.
According to the parliamentarian, the deputies of the UNITA Parliamentary Group have duties and obligations and not just rights “as they seek to claim, which is why he appeals to the sense of State and respect for the democratic rules enshrined in the Constitution.
Process phases
In light of article 284 of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, the initiative for the process of indicting and dismissing the President of the Republic is the responsibility of the National Assembly, with the Initiative Proposal being presented by 1/3 of the deputies currently in office.
Having received the proposed initiative for the process of indictment and dismissal of the President of the Republic, the plenary of the National Assembly meets urgently and creates, by an absolute majority of the deputies in full office, an Occasional Committee, in order to prepare the opinion report on the matter, within the deadline set.
The composition of the Occasional Committee, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, must comply with the rules of proportional representation.
Once the Opinion Report on the process of indictment and dismissal of the President of the Republic has been completed, the President of the National Assembly calls an Extraordinary Plenary Meeting, within 72 hours, to comment on the matter.
Once the Opinion Report has been discussed, the Plenary approves the resolution on the matter by a majority of 2/3 of the deputies in full office, and the respective communication or procedural petition must therefore be sent to the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court, as the case may be. .
In light of article 129 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic can only be removed from office for crimes of treason and espionage, for crimes of bribery, embezzlement and for definitive incapacity to continue to hold office.
João Lourenço is serving his second term, legitimized by the victory of his party (MPLA) in the 2022 general elections, by an absolute majority.
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