At issue is the decision taken at the beginning of the month by the Court of Appeal of Luanda, which ordered the suspension of a national dialogue, promoted by the OAA, which intended to encourage "reflection on the electoral legislative package" that is being considered by the National Assembly.
The Court of Justice's ruling ruled in favor of a group of lawyers who filed a precautionary measure against the OAA initiative, claiming that this entity does not have the power to promote an event of this nature.
The OAA regretted at the time the "unprecedented" decision, which it classified as "an institutional aggression" and an "attack on fundamental freedoms", and announced that it would participate in the reporting judge "for violation of the duties of impartiality, reasonableness and respect for the constitutional limits of jurisdiction".
In a public statement released this Thursday, the OAA announced that it had filed an extraordinary appeal of constitutionality, appealing to the Constitutional Court to “restore legality”, and had taken disciplinary action against the judges involved in the process with the Superior Council of the Judiciary, as “there were serious indications of improper conduct”.
The OAA also considers that there are “elements susceptible to criminal classification”, having appealed to the Attorney General's Office, and informed that it is finalizing a civil liability action against the State, “with a view to repairing the damages caused by acts carried out by magistrates in the exercise of their functions in manifest abuse of power and affront to the sacrosanct principle of legality”.
In the decision of the Panel, which had as rapporteur Judge Lucas Júnior, the judges argued that the Statute of the Order does not include any attributions related to this event, so that an activity of this nature "is illegal", allowing the use of "public force" to apply the sentence.
The OAA said it was an attempt to silence its mission to "undermine democracy", stressing that the suspended event "was not intended to legislate or usurp skills" and that critical thinking "is not a subversive act".
Among the participants in the debate on the electoral package were the former president of the OAA Luís Paulo Monteiro, the coordinator of the Angolan Social Political Observatory (OPSA), Sérgio Calundungo, the coordinator of the Angolan Electoral Observatory, Luis Jimbo, activists Luaty Beirão and Cesaltina Cutaia, journalists such as Reginaldo Silva and Teixeira Cândido (former president of the union), television commentators Bali Chionga and José Pakisi Mendonça and researchers Cesaltina Abreu and David Boio.
