Africa-Press – Cape verde. Dozens of Angolan organizations and individuals have launched a manifesto on the electoral law, which they say contains “structural deficiencies”, in which they ask that their proposals be included in the parliamentary debate.
Angolan civil society believes that the Organic Law on General Elections contains “structural deficiencies” that must be corrected to guarantee transparency and electoral integrity.
In the manifesto to which Lusa had access today, signed by 24 Angolan civil society organizations and individuals, the National Assembly (parliament) is urged to halt the mechanism for approving proposed amendments to the law.
Proposals to amend the law initiated by the Angolan government, supported by the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA, the largest opposition party), are currently under discussion in parliament.
For the signatories of the manifesto, an initiative of the Mudei Civic Movement, the proposed amendments “were submitted by the parties competing in the 2027 elections without due consultation with the sovereign, the people.
They recall the constitutional right to legislative initiative and consider that the rights to participate in the country’s political life “have been systematically withheld, compromising the transparency and fairness of the electoral process”.
“Once again, there is an attempt to change the rules of the [electoral] game without the involvement of society, through proposals exclusively from the MPLA and UNITA”, the manifesto states.
According to the signatories, the proposal aims to “correct structural deficiencies” in the aforementioned law and consolidate electoral democracy in Angola, through several measures, such as guaranteeing transparency and electoral integrity and the independence of the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
The signatories of the manifesto advocate reforming the composition of the CNE to ensure that its members are chosen independently, without political influence, eliminating the possibility of them emanating from political parties involved in the dispute.
On the other hand, they also propose active monitoring and observation by civil society, namely free access for national and international observers to the electoral process to reinforce the legitimacy of the results.
Equal access to the media, to guarantee equal opportunities for all candidates to present their proposals to the electorate, and impartiality of the courts in validating the results, with the creation of an electoral court, separate from the Constitutional Court, are also among the proposals set out in the manifesto.
The manifesto also requests that the discussion of the proposal to be discussed in the parliamentary debate be broadcast live by the media so that citizens can properly follow it.
By 11:30, the manifesto had been signed by 280 people.
Law No. 9/22, of April 20, which regulates the exercise of the right to petition, consulted by Lusa, does not mention a minimum number of signatures for a petition to be considered valid or considered by the National Assembly.
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