The parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) submitted a motion to the National Assembly asking for the discussion of a protest vote against the murder of 16 elderly peasant women in the province of Cuanza Norte, but it was rejected by the plenary.
Only UNITA, the Social Renewal Party (PRS), the Humanist Party of Angola (PHA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), all in the opposition, voted in favor of the motion, totaling 78 votes.
The deputies of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) voted against UNITA's proposal, with 107 votes, a stance that caused indignation from the president of the parliamentary group of the main opposition party, Liberty Chiyaka.
Another request to change the agenda of the plenary meeting taking place this Thursday was also submitted to the plenary by UNITA, this time for the discussion and vote on a protest vote against the "illegal detention" of deputies Francisco Falua and João Quipipa Dias, but it also failed to pass the plenary's scrutiny, deserving votes against from the parliamentary majority.
Francisco Falua and João Quipipa Dias, UNITA deputies from the Cuanza Norte provincial constituency, were arrested last Sunday while taking part in a march in solidarity with the deaths of elderly women in that province.
The murder of 16 peasant women in agricultural fields in the municipality of Cazengo, in Cuanza Norte, was the theme of Sunday's demonstration, which was repressed by the local police and resulted in several arrests, including those of the aforementioned deputies and a journalist, who were later released.
Liberty Chiyaka, reacting to the MPLA's vote against both requests, expressed "indignation, revolt and deep sadness at the lack of human solidarity" shown in the vote against by the ruling party's deputies.
"We have Angolan citizens who were murdered in the province of Cuanza Norte. It is the duty of the people's representatives to show solidarity with the families of the victims, it is the duty of the deputies to protest against the violence that affects the families that we represent", he said.
For the leader of the UNITA parliamentary group, it is also the duty of the deputies to show solidarity with the deputies of the National Assembly who were "illegally detained", recalling that the parliamentarians committed to defending and respecting the Constitution and the laws.
In this plenary session, the deputies also unanimously approved a vote of congratulations to the President, João Lourenço, who represents Angola in the rotating presidency of the African Union (AU).
The deputies considered that this presidency is recognition of the personal commitment of the head of state as well as of the role that Angola has been playing in favour of development and peace on the African continent.
The plenary also recorded the movement of deputies, with emphasis on the definitive replacement of seven deputies from UNITA, among them Abel Chivukuvuku (leader of PRA JA Servir Angola) and José Alberto Catenda, who definitively lost his mandate for illegal use of official vehicles, and the suspension of the termination of the mandate of Mara Baptista Quiosa, current vice-president of the MPLA, who, in this way, regains her seat in parliament.
