Manuel Pereira da Silva, outgoing president of the CNE, beat candidates Rosalino Miguel Domingos and Amélia Cristina Ernesto, having achieved 91 points out of the total requirements, against 48 points and 33 points of the opponents, respectively.
Seniority in the judiciary, experience in conducting electoral processes, academic training, professional merit and other experiences were the criteria for the competition, according to the final report on the evaluation and verification of candidacies released this Thursday.
According to the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ), Manuel Pereira da Silva's seniority in the judiciary and experience (who led the CNE in the last general elections of 2022 amid challenges to his "suitability") in conducting electoral processes were fundamental in evaluating his candidacy.
The competition, which reappointed the judge as head of the CNE for the next five years, initially had four candidates, but the jury decided to only admit three and exclude Alexandre Albano Júnior's candidacy due to "non-conformities".
Manuel Pereira da Silva has presided over the CNE since February 19, 2020, but was heavily challenged by Judge Agostinho Santos – a defeated candidate in the then curricular competition promoted by the CSMJ in 2019 and approved in January 2020 – for alleged "irregularities".
Agostinho Santos, then a retired judge of the Supreme Court (TS), complained, at the time of the events, that the competition contained flaws and that 47 points had been "illegally taken away" from him by the CSMJ, in its role as the competition organizer.
The complaining magistrate also said that the current president of the CSMJ, Joel Leonardo, had lied to parliament and to the President, João Lourenço, by sending a letter approving the competition when he had already appealed the results.
Following his legal actions on the case, Agostinho Santos (who died in November 2024 due to illness) was suspended from his activity for 180 days, with total loss of remuneration, and prohibited from accessing the facilities of the TS and CSMJ, Luanda. The judge also made several public complaints about the matter and even asked, at the time, for the intervention of the President of the Republic.
Judge Manuel Pereira da Silva was sworn in by parliament as president of the CNE on February 19, 2020, amid many protests from the opposition and civil society who accused him of "lack of moral and legal suitability" for the position.
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) announced at the end of February, following the opening of this new curricular competition at the CNE, that it will challenge the results, mainly due to "distrust in the suitability" of the re-elected outgoing president.
With the publication of the final report of the 2025 competition, the president of the CSMJ must communicate the winner to the president of the National Assembly, after the five-day period for any complaints.
The term of office of CNE members is five years, renewable for the same period, starting with the inauguration and ending with the inauguration of the new members elected to this body.
