Africa-Press – Angola. João Lourenço confirmed as the head of the party’s list for the August elections and two women nominated for the positions of Vice-President of the Republic and President of the National Assembly. The list was approved by the members of the Central Committee with 580 votes in favour, corresponding to 94.5 percent, 23 votes against and 11 abstentions.
The MPLA Central Committee, meeting yesterday in an extraordinary session led by the party leader, João Lourenço, approved the general list of candidates for deputies to the National Assembly, for the five-year period 2022/2027, which also indicates Esperança Maria Eduardo Francisco. da Costa, current Secretary of State for Fisheries, for the position of Vice-President of the Republic, and Carolina Cerqueira, for the position of President of the National Assembly.
The list, which confirms João Lourenço as the head of the list and the two women in the second and third places, was approved with 580 votes in favour, corresponding to 94.5 percent, 23 votes against and 11 abstentions. In the event that the MPLA emerges victorious in the next general elections, it will make history, taking into account that it will be the first time since independence that two women will hold high state functions, namely in the positions of Vice-President of the Republic and President of the National Assembly.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, João Lourenço clarified that the non-appointment of Bornito de Sousa for the same position is due to the fact that he had expressed this intention, right at the beginning of the current term, a decision he said he respected. When referring to the list of party candidates for deputies to the National Assembly, the MPLA president said that it respects the necessary gender balance and a significant representation of young cadres in the phase of being launched for new responsibilities and challenges, which , he underlined, “it only confirms the bet that the MPLA has always made on Angolan youth”.
The members of the Central Committee were also informed about the draft government program and the MPLA electoral manifesto, whose approval was sent to the next extraordinary session, to be held on the 2nd of June. In relation to the proposed Government program and the electoral manifesto, João Lourenço informed that they are based on the commitment to the continuous fight against corruption and impunity, creation of a business environment, attraction of direct private investment, diversification of the economy, increase in production domestic market, in the imperative need to reduce imports and increase exports.
The MPLA president said that this program proposal pays particular attention to the need to continue to improve infrastructures, the quality of life of Angolans, through continuous investment in human training, access to education, health, housing, as well as a greater supply of potable water, electricity and the creation of a greater supply of jobs.
“Although the world is experiencing a situation of economic crisis, with no end in sight, our government program is focused on ensuring the country’s economic and social growth and development in the coming years”, assured the MPLA president.
… Elections In August
Regarding the holding of the next general elections, scheduled for next August, João Lourenço said he expects a large participation of voters, who are in legal conditions to exercise the right to choose their representatives in the National Assembly and the President of the Republic. He mentioned that, taking into account the implementation of the process, every five years, it should be seen as routine, but, due to the importance it has, in the consolidation of our democracy and in the lives of the citizens, it always creates a lot of expectation and anxiety about the way it will take place, as well as the expected results.
João Lourenço stressed that elections are a process that involve several actors, ranging from the National Assembly, which approves the laws governing the organization of elections, the National Electoral Commission, the Executive, the political parties competing in the electoral process, the Constitutional, the President of the Republic, who has the responsibility to convene them, under the terms of the Constitution and the law, and, also, of the voting citizen, who votes.
“As we have just seen, all of us are summoned by the Nation to do their part within the responsibilities they have”, stressed the MPLA leader.
Thanks To Party Members
The MPLA president thanked the efforts made by militants, friends and party sympathizers throughout the country during this pre-campaign period, which, as he advanced, should serve, above all, to identify strengths and weaknesses, in order to correct and improve in the electoral campaign. “Our mass acts are successful thanks to the high level of organization, planning and execution, which the party committees, at different levels, have been able to imprint”, acknowledged João Lourenço, for whom this table constitutes an important barometer to measure the popularity and degree of acceptance that the party enjoys among the Angolan people and society.
“We will continue to carry out this work, which I consider important, but not sufficient, as we must, in parallel with this work, carry out another, perhaps more important work, the work of proximity to the Party Action Committees, which will guarantee that, on election day, voters will actually go to polling stations and vote correctly”, he stressed.
The president of the MPLA, João Lourenço, said that, despite being in the cold season, the heat of the pre-campaign and the campaign itself, “will rise, in a good way”, as we will work more and sleep less, to ensure victory. “But we have to know how to manage time and our energies, manage the physical and emotional burden, manage all kinds of resources, whether human or logistical, in the broadest sense”, he stressed.
Discrediting The General Elections
The MPLA president denounced that political opponents are carrying out an internal and external campaign to discredit the elections, even before they take place, a fact that he considered unprecedented in the history of elections in the world, since, he highlighted, Electoral disputes can only arise after the elections have been held and under the terms defined by law. However, he recalled that these same political opponents are part of the organization of the elections, insofar as they are in the National Assembly, where laws are approved, including electoral ones, in the National Electoral Commission, where they have commissioners, at all levels, even being part of the deliberations taken at these levels.
João Lourenço stressed that the Constitution of the Republic establishes that general elections must be held in Angola every five years, but it goes so far as to define that, in that electoral year, they must necessarily take place in the month of August, not being, therefore, a matter of choice for any entity, but a legal obligation embodied not in an ordinary law, but in the Constitution.
He mentioned that some political formations are showing obvious signs that they are not prepared to contest these elections, because they have wasted time promoting and organizing activities of social destabilization, vandalism, which even threaten public security and public property, which the everyone belongs.
“The MPLA will continue to prepare, conveniently, for the electoral dispute in August of this year, which the President of the Republic, in due course, must convene, in respect of the Constitution that we are all obliged to comply with”, stressed the leader of the MPLA, João Lourenço.
Central Committee Praises Actions
The members of the Central Committee encouraged the President to continue with the actions in progress, in the spirit of “correct what is wrong, and improve what is right”. As part of the implementation of the National Development Plan 2018-2022, they also welcomed the results achieved in the materialization of various programs of a socio-economic nature, with emphasis on PIIM, KWENDA, PRODESI and PREI, for the improvements in living conditions of the populations, which reflect substantial contributions to the sustainable development of the country, reads the final communiqué.
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