Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of State and Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, clarified, this Wednesday, the main purposes that guide the proposal to revise the Electoral Law.
Adão de Almeida made these clarifications when addressing the changes to the Electoral Legislative Package, during the TPA Grande Entrevista program.
Remaining in assemblies affects freedom of vote
The presence of citizens at polling stations, after exercising their right, could contribute to disturbing the principle of freedom of vote, warned this Wednesday the Minister of State and head of the Civil House of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida.
The Minister of State was speaking in an interview with Angolan Public Television (TPA) regarding the proposal to amend the Electoral Legislative Package, under discussion in the National Assembly.
According to Adão de Almeida, among the various principles of electoral law is the one related to the freedom to vote, which must be taken into account.
For this reason, he argued that all instruments, both legal and operational, must safeguard the various principles so that voting is free, direct, secret and periodic.
Adão de Almeida added that, from the reflection made, also resulting from the experience of several processes already carried out, it is concluded that “potential elements of disturbance could arise from this”.
With this definition, he argued, the General Elections, in 2027, could take place in an environment of security, transparency and without mechanisms or situations that could represent any type of disturbance to the normal development of the electoral process.
He also argued that the debate on the Electoral Legislative Package, which is now underway in the National Assembly, should be inspired by the same understanding of the problem.
“Whether citizens should position themselves 50 or 100 meters away is a debate that we have to have inspired by the same understanding of the problem,” he said.
Contrary to what is being said in the public space, Adão de Almeida noted that the law previously stated 100 meters from the Voting Assembly, stating that the proposed diploma currently does not provide for any distance.
“Today the law allows 100 people to be at the door of a Polling Station. Therefore, as is evident, the two proposals coincide from the point of view of the need for distancing”, he added.
He clarified that the spirit of the proposal is not to prohibit citizens from moving around or staying at their doorsteps, but rather to avoid crowds at the doors of polling stations on election day.
This, he argued, could represent an instrument of pressure on the members of the voting tables themselves and other participants in the process.
“Therefore, whether we have a closer or less close distance, I think that is the debate we have to have,” he said.
Likewise, he expressed the Executive’s willingness to negotiate, as long as what is reasonable is met.
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