Nelito Ekuikui, outgoing provincial secretary of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Luanda and who made history by defeating the MPLA, in the capital, Luanda, in the 2022 elections, said that his candidacy represents a "progress, and non-regression" at the level of party structures.
"Our candidacy represents a reading of the Angolan political context and what youth also represents for the construction of a new paradigm for Angola", said the pre-candidate for the leadership of the Youth United Revolutionary of Angola (JURA).
The youth arm of UNITA, the largest opposition party, is holding its V Ordinary Congress from March 15 to 17, for the renewal of mandates, and six militants have already expressed their intention to lead the organization currently headed by Agostinho Kamuango, who will not leave re-apply.
Ekuikui, 31 years old, was the first to formalize his candidacy with the mandates commission, in a ceremony that took place in the Sovsmo complex, in the Angolan municipality of Viana, in Luanda, and he expressed himself "confident" in the victory.
"There are those who think that [my candidacy] is a regression, but for me it is not, for me it represents progress, especially because of the courage that our team showed in presenting itself to the party's militants for it to be evaluated and accepted", he replied. to Lusa.
"Therefore, I am confident of victory, but it is always a risk and an elective act always has more legitimacy, we are looking for the legitimacy of the party's militants at the level of the structures of the JURA to continue our work", he justified.
For the pre-candidate for leadership of JURA, the action taken represents "steps towards the rise of a cadre".
The UNITA deputy denied having been the target of internal and external pressure to the party, for having "sufficient maturity" to assess the facts and phenomena of the country, considering that his decision results from "consensus" with several provincial secretaries of JURA, who are part of your campaign.
"I am not a person who lets himself be pressured, I am a person who evaluates the facts and phenomena and makes himself available to the party, I am putting myself to a new challenge in the party without any pressure", he stressed.
This period "also represented listening to the JURA national committee", where there are "several members directing the structure of the campaign" of his candidacy, he stressed.
Questioned whether his candidacy is symptomatic of any fear of the reorganization of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in Luanda, the UNITA politician refused, guaranteeing that he leaves the post of secretary of Luanda with the spirit of duty done.
"I think my role in Luanda was done, with the whole team I worked with, and we always said that we would defeat the MPLA in Luanda and we did and now we are saying that we are going to walk with these youth to awaken consciences", he assured.
"We are going to work to not allow the MPLA to continue to deceive our people, it is necessary to go to the villages, communes and municipalities to awaken consciences that will free Angola", he noted.
He also downplayed the actions of JMPLA, the ruling party's youth organization, and guaranteed to transform JURA into "the largest youth organization in the country", because its candidacy "also represents the spreading of love".
Affirmation, ideological purity and leadership training constitute the axes of Nelito Ekuikui's candidacy, which has the signature of 15 members of UNITA's permanent committee, including the historic militant and reform general Abílio Kamalata Numa, present at the act.
Domingos Epalanga, Sebastião Salakiaku, Roberto Gamba, Hilário Marques and João Lukombo are the remaining pre-candidates for the position of general secretary of JURA and who must formalize their candidacies by Sunday.
