Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Bar Association will file a complaint against the judge who suspended a debate on the electoral package and will appeal, including to the Constitutional Court, against the decision classified as an “attack on fundamental freedoms”.
At issue is the decision of the Court of Appeal of Luanda that ordered the suspension of a national dialogue on the electoral legislative package”, scheduled for today, which intended to encourage “reflection on the electoral legislative package” that is being considered in the National Assembly, with various segments of civil society.
In a statement released today, the Angolan Bar Association (OAA) regrets the “unprecedented” decision that “represents an institutional aggression by the OAA”, an “attack on fundamental freedoms” and a “severe blow” to the democratic rule of law.
For the OAA, preventing this “plural, legal and technical debate on legislative matters of public interest” constitutes a “dangerous and unacceptable setback. The Court of Appeal’s ruling ruled in favor of a group of lawyers who filed an injunction against the OAA’s initiative, claiming that this entity does not have the authority to promote an event of this nature.
In the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had judge Lucas Júnior as rapporteur, the judges argue that the Statute of the Order does not include any attributions related to this event, therefore an activity of this nature “is illegal”, allowing recourse to “public force” to apply the sentence.
The OAA counters what it says is an attempt to silence its mission in order to “weaken democracy”, stressing that the suspended event “did not intend to legislate or usurp powers and that critical thinking “is not a subversive act”.
The OAA statement, signed by its president José Luís Domingos, also mocks the speed of Angolan justice, noting that the precautionary measure was decided within 24 hours, showing that “procedural speed is, after all, possible when it is intended”.
In view of the “serious situation”, the OAA decided to file a complaint against the reporting judge “for violation of the duties of impartiality, reasonableness and respect for the constitutional limits of jurisdiction” and admits to appealing to the Constitutional Court “due to the non-application of constitutional norms relating to fundamental freedoms and the statute of the Order.
The OAA promises further clarification on “the contours of this decision” in the coming days and called on all lawyers to unite around the institution, also appealing to the mobilization of civil society, academia, students and all citizens.
Participants in the debate on the electoral package included former OAA president Luis Paulo Monteiro, coordinator of the Angolan Social Political Observatory (OPSA), Sérgio Calundungo, coordinator of the Angolan Electoral Observatory, Luis Jimbo, activists Luaty Beirão and Cesaltina Cutaia, journalists such as Reginaldo Silva and Teixeira Cândido (former president of the union), television commentators Bali Chionga and José Pakisi Mendonça, and researchers Cesaltina Abreu and David Boio.
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