The leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) responded in this way to the president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), João Lourenço, who said on Friday in a meeting of the central committee of the MPLA, that conditions were created for holding local elections with the new president of the CNE, but left messages to the "posture of some politicians".
"Those who claim to defend the rule of law in a state under the rule of law are the same ones who want to violate the principle of separation of powers, since the responsibility for the election of the president of the CNE is the exclusive competence of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, but there are those who deliberately try to ignore and violate this principle," he said.
The choice of Manuel Pereira da Silva was controversial, from the announcement that he had been the winner of a curricular competition to taking office, the day all opposition parties left the plenary room of the National Assembly in protest against the decision.
UNITA even brought an injunction before the Supreme Court to prevent the swearing in of Manuel Pereira da Silva as the new president of CNE, also criticised by a group of Angolan civil society organizations.
In this regard, João Lourenço stated that "the only competence of the National Assembly is to confer office, without ever judging the competence and suitability of the judiciary", accepting the choice of the CSJM, an "independent entity" and "without interference from political forces".
Liberty Chiaka argued that this position should not be that of the President of the Republic.
"The president of the MPLA, in defence of his interest, finds it normal for an administrative body to take illegal decisions to safeguard the party interest. I understand that the MPLA president thinks that way, but as President of the Republic I think he should act differently", criticized Liberty Chiaka, in a press conference in Sumbe, after the closing of the IX Parliamentary Days of the party.
The leader of the "galo negro" party also considered that the National Assembly had failed in its mission of monitoring and ensuring the proper application of laws in the case of the controversial choice of Manuel Pereira da Silva by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, stressing that this was not necessary to move forward with the municipalities.
"The election of the president of the CNE for the local elections should never have been conditional. The president is not a body, the body is the plenary, so even without a formally appointed president, the CNE could continue its work. It is the plenary that deliberates and it was not a reason to delay the process for the local elections", he criticised.
He also stressed that the Superior Council of the Judiciary is a mere administrative body, so it would be up to the National Assembly to "ensure the proper application of laws".
Liberty Chiaka also talked about tasks to be carried out before leaving for the local elections, namely a new electoral register, "so as not to assume the same vices and irregularities" and the need to know whether the elections will be held in all municipalities, as advocated by UNITA, contrary to the ruling party, MPLA.
He also stressed that the municipal elections are mainly in the interest of the citizens, not of the parties, and therefore, if there are threats "to the legitimate intentions of the Angolans to participate in the management of public affairs", it should be the citizens who take the initiative and say: "Enough, we want to participate".
"We will appeal to civil society, to the citizens in general, not to accept that their legitimate intention to participate in public affairs is postponed by the will of a political group. We can express ourselves, we can go ahead with legal proceedings in defence of national sovereignty", he added.
The UNITA Members of Parliament, who held these days under the slogan "For participatory citizenship and inclusive development", analysed issues such as the social and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fight against poverty and the impact of territorial gradualism on development.
After a visit to 12 municipalities of Kwanza Sul province, chosen for these days, they also deplored "the miserable situation to which most of the population is subjected due to lack of public investment by those who have governed the country for 44 years", reads the final statement.
