The extraordinary plenary meeting had initially been scheduled for August 26, and later for the 31st, but the members of the permanent commission considered it necessary to postpone the date again due to the slow progress of the work.
At issue is the discussion, in specialty, of bills related to the amendment of the Official Electoral Registration Law and the Organic Law for General Elections proposed by the parliamentary groups of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, ruling party) and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, in opposition).
Deputy Justino Pinto de Andrade, a member of the permanent commission, who suggested September 2 or 3 for the approval of the diplomas, pointed out that the experience of the last discussions "showed that the time is quite long," so there would not be enough time to discuss the organic law and draft the final documents to be submitted to parliament in the coming days.
"If we don't discuss deeply and find consensus it will pass to society an idea of division in a fundamental framework that is the framework of the general elections," he pointed out.
Alexandre Sebastião André, of the CASA-CE coalition, noted that at a time when consensus is being sought on the Official Electoral Registration Law, the same will be done with the organic law and "there are not a few articles" under discussion.
"If we want the perfection of the work, we should not risk calling an extraordinary meeting for the 31st," he said.
The president of the National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, considered it advisable that the legislative changes be approved in the same plenary session to avoid delays in the unofficial electoral registration, which is scheduled for mid-September, and suggested as an alternative September 1st, a request that was accepted by the commission members.
The proposals are being discussed article by article by the specialty commissions of the National Assembly aiming at converging points for the elaboration of a single legal diploma, in view of the general elections foreseen for 2022.
