Manuel Pereira da Silva "Manico" was re-elected through a public competition held by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, to fill the position of president of the CNE, but UNITA requested the Constitutional Court to annul the competition, alleging violation of the principles of legality and impartiality.
Deputies from the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) left the inauguration ceremony on Monday, shouting: "Manico no, Manico out".
The president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, wished the president of the CNE "success in the exercise of his functions".
Speaking to journalists, the leader of the UNITA parliamentary group, Liberty Chiaka, said that the regulation that served as a basis for the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) to choose the president of the CNE "is riddled with illegalities".
Manuel Pereira da Silva has presided over the CNE since February 19, 2020 and, in the last general elections, in 2022, the opposition had already challenged his suitability.
The curricular competition promoted by the CSMJ in 2019 and approved in January 2020 was also contested by judge Agostinho Santos, the defeated candidate, due to alleged "irregularities".
Pereira da Silva was sworn in by parliament for the first time as president of the CNE in February 2020, amid many protests from the opposition and civil society, who accused him of "lack of moral and legal suitability" for the position.
