The extension appears in a message from the Presidency of the Republic of Angola posted on the social network Facebook.
"The President of the Republic, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, determined today, by decree, after consultation with the National Electoral Commission, the extension of the period of the In-person Electoral Registration and Residence Update of Senior Citizens, for a period of seven days, throughout the national territory and abroad", reads the message.
The seven-day extension starts to run from this Friday, April 1st.
Voter registration began on September 23, 2021 and was supposed to end this Friday, but the huge queues registered in recent weeks had already led the leaders of the United Patriotic Front (FPU) political platform to subscribe to a statement in which they defended the extension. deadline due to logistical problems in voter registration.
The FPU includes the president of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Adalberto Costa Júnior, the president of the Democratic Bloc (BD), Filomeno Vieira Lopes, and Abel Chivukuvuku, creator of the political project PRA-JA Servir Angola.
Nine non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members of civil society had also appealed to the executive to extend the deadline for electoral registration in view of the "dissatisfaction exposed in Angola and in the diaspora" due to the malfunctioning of the service desks.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Territory Administration and State Reform, Marcy Lopes, the nine organizations (Friends of Angola, Omunga, Associação Justiça Paz e Democracia, SOS Habitat, Projecto Agir, Platform for Reflection Angola - Civic Association "Angolreflex", Angola - Vote for the Diaspora - AVD, Angolan Diaspora Union - UDA and Benguela Activists Network) and 15 members of civil society asked for an extension of the deadline for another 30 days.
The updating of the official electoral register, a process that began on 23 September 2021 and runs until 31 March 2022, according to the authorities' schedule, is carried out at the Public Service Desk (BUAP) with the issuance of a citizen, after presentation of the voter's card or identity card.
The process, extended to Angolans residing outside Angola, is managed by the Ministry of Territorial Administration.
