At a press conference this Tuesday in Luanda, the president of the UNITA parliamentary group, Liberty Chiaka, said that the demonstrations will be called by the party president, Adalberto Costa Júnior, and that "all Angolan patriots will be invited to participate due to the regime's threats against the fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens".
On Monday, UNITA walked out of the plenary session of the National Assembly during which the president of the CNE was sworn in, as it believed that he should not be sworn in while a case is underway at the Constitutional Court that raises the unconstitutionality of the Regulation of the Curricular Competition, under which the Superior Council of the Judiciary appointed Manuel Pereira dos Santos "Manico" to preside over the body that conducts the Angolan electoral processes.
UNITA claims that the competition through which it was chosen was "tainted" and questioned its suitability, saying that "it has been strongly contested by broad sectors of society".
"He has been elected several times as a member of the Luanda Provincial Electoral Commission and, in that capacity, has been the subject of investigations or inquiries due to strong evidence of public impropriety," said the party leader.
"We have no doubt that the appointment of Dr. Manuel Pereira da Silva to the National Assembly gives his appointment a false perception of legitimacy while at the same time lending him an image of suitability, impartiality and integrity that definitely does not correspond to reality," he added.
"We want to make it very clear to Angolans, 'Manico' will not be president of the National Electoral Commission", reinforced Chiaka, stating that the demonstrations will take place throughout the country.
The UNITA deputy accused the President of the Republic and president of the MPLA (the party that has governed Angola since independence in 1975), João Lourenço, of "lack of political will" to implement in Angola "credible electoral processes that reflect the will of the sovereign people of Angola".
The head of the UNITA parliamentary group also criticized the "complicit silence" of other political parties in the opposition and considered that there are "serious threats to political stability", thus justifying the protests.
"Whatever adversities we have to face, whatever the arbitrary actions, Angolans can be confident: in 2027 [date of the next elections] the regime will be defeated and we will lead the first peaceful alternation of power, we will lead a change of regime", he promised.
Liberty Chiaka also said she wanted to make it clear to Angolans that "what happened in 2022 will not happen again", making a commitment to "honor the free choice of the people", alluding to the criticism the party received after deputies chose to occupy their seats in parliament despite the party complaining about the alleged fraud in that electoral act.
