Speaking to Lusa, on the sidelines of New Year greetings he presented to members of the diplomatic corps and other individuals, the leader of the largest opposition party noted that UNITA and the other parties have always said that it is the congresses that will define the strategies for 2027 (election year).
“We should not anticipate what is an autonomous decision of the members in the congress phase”, said Adalberto Júnior, adding that the option made in 2022, which brought about the formation of a plural parliamentary group, was “exceptionally successful” and obtained a historic result. .
Abel Chivukuvuku, general coordinator of PRA JA Servir Angola, one of the parties that make up the FPU, alongside the Democratic Bloc, has argued that the opposition platform should present itself as a coalition in the next elections.
Seven PRA JA deputies with leadership roles left UNITA's parliamentary bench in mid-January after the party was legalized, and Chivukuvuku said at the time that the Patriotic Front could not be “just an idea” and should become a formal coalition.
Adalberto da Costa Júnior highlighted, in turn, that the FPU and UNITA itself are being targeted by a campaign and news that serve to “create some confusion”.
“Our laws allow institutional coups on their own. In Angola, it is possible to be president of the Republic without having a parliamentary majority. This is a highly risky phenomenon that we would like to have corrected through the legislative initiative that we are taking to the National Assembly,” he stressed, insisting that “Congress will respond” regarding the future of UNITA.
“Until that happens, we have the United Patriotic Front and we will maintain this principle,” he added.
The leader indicated that the congress will be held at the end of the year, without wanting to reveal whether he will be a candidate for the party leadership again.
“Bringing forward campaigns is not a win-win situation for the party,” he said, reinforcing that, in all parties, the highest decisions are deliberated at congresses.
“Can congresses be influenced by their current leaders? Sometimes, yes. Other times, no. Therefore, it is important to be careful and polite to wait calmly,” he concluded.
In his speech presenting New Year's greetings, he highlighted the dangers of growing instability in the region, resulting from the “worn-out formula of preserving power at any price, even without the legitimacy of the sovereign vote”, and the “exploitation of rare and of a new geostrategy that has been defined in recent times”.
“The United Nations and international law enforcement agencies must pay special attention to the institutional coups that are becoming common practice in Africa and beyond,” he appealed.
At the domestic level, he reiterated that only with the creation of local authorities will Angola be able to satisfy the needs and demands of its populations and spoke of the need for alternation to carry out the "urgent reforms" that the country needs.
