The resolution that establishes the composition of the CNE, a legislative initiative of the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), results from the votes of each party or coalition of political parties with parliamentary representation as a result of the general elections on 24 August 2022.
The document was approved by the specialized committees of the National Assembly with 22 votes in favor, zero against and no abstentions.
The CNE, an independent body that organizes, executes, coordinates and conducts electoral processes, is made up of 17 members, 16 of which are appointed by the National Assembly, by an absolute majority of the deputies in office.
The member who presides over the body, in light of the law, must be a judicial magistrate chosen through a curricular competition and appointed by the country's Superior Council of the Judiciary.
According to the diploma, presented at the session by the deputy rapporteur, Milonga Bernardo, the number of members of the CNE proposed by parties or coalitions of political parties with seats in parliament is fixed by resolution of the National Assembly at the end of the term of office of the members in office.
The term of office of members of the CNE and its bodies is five years, renewable for an equal period, which coincides with the duration of a parliamentary legislature.
This composition of representatives for the CNE raised various approaches from deputies during the session, with some questioning whether the mechanisms for allocating the number of members in the electoral body would be based on representativeness or proportionality.
In response, the president of the Parliament's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, António Paulo, stated that the aforementioned numbers were the result of a concerted meeting of parliamentary leaders, without giving further details.
At the end of the work, the deputies approved the opinion report and the resolution unanimously and recommended to the plenary the final and global vote on the diploma, which should be considered in the plenary session on the 23rd.
