"The important thing is that the ruling party - in this case the MPLA and President João Lourenço - does not start a second term in the shadow of fraud. Also because, if that happens, it will no longer just be suspected of fraud, the majority of the population, the majority of people, will tend to believe that there was in fact fraud. Which is very bad. You can no longer talk about democracy in such a situation", said the writer in statements to Lusa.
"It seems to me too early for anyone to claim victory, because, in fact, the story is still being told and one of the parties, which by the way is a party with a lot of expression, even with the current numbers of the National Electoral Commission (CNE), is contesting the results", underlined the writer, who considers it "of the most elementary common sense" to wait for the bodies to which the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) has resorted or will resort to decide, in this case, the Constitutional Court.
The important thing, said Agualusa, is that the process of "reconciliation" of the results, to be eventually carried out by an independent commission, as suggested by the leader of UNITA, Adalberto Costa Júnior, is completed, "so that everyone believes in these results".
"The problem in this situation is that people start to question the credibility of the whole process. It is a question of credibility. If doubt sets in – and it is set at this moment – it is necessary to clarify this. It seems to me absolutely unwise to move forward with the process before everything is clarified," he said.
"This doesn't benefit anyone, it doesn't benefit democracy, it certainly doesn't benefit any of the parties, including the party that is now in power, which, if it wins, will continue to be. And I don't think it's good for João Lourenço to start a second mandate in this situation. He should be the first interested in clarifying all this", he continued.
If João Lourenço clearly wins, the writer maintained, "he will be in a position of strength to take decisions that will be difficult in the coming months and, even, to try to control the most conservative or corrupt currents in his party, which are against the advancement of the democratic process and who are frightened by the possibility of continuing the fight against corruption".
Alternatively, he added, if the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) candidate "loses and accepts defeat, he will always be remembered as the President who made the transition to full democracy."
"Right now, João Lourenço is still in a position to go down in history as a great president. One way or another. But if he doesn't understand this and proceed with the process before it is clarified, his second term will be very complicated. Because it will not have any authority", underlined José Eduardo Agualusa.
The writer adds that, "on top of that", the President "is in a city that, at the moment, is clearly hostile to him. All the centers of power are in Luanda, which is a city today clearly hostile to the MPLA and with a youth increasingly conscious, politicized, combative. And it was this youth that gave UNITA the victory in an absolutely clear way".
This context leads Agualusa to conclude that João Lourenço does not have "today" the "conditions to start a dictatorship, which would be the case if he proceeds without the process being clarified, if he proceeds in a context of explicit fraud".
"It is in his interest to wait and support the clarification of this process", he reinforced.
Otherwise, the MPLA candidate "will stop being a democratically elected President, he will become a dictator".
"And it doesn't seem to me that João Lourenço has the conditions to be a dictator at this moment. He doesn't have any popular support, or he doesn't have the support of the majority of the population, very clearly - first, the majority of the population didn't even go to the polls, no voted and then an expressive part voted for UNITA", concluded the writer.
The MPLA won the elections with 51.17 percent of the votes against 43.95 percent for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), according to the final results announced by the CNE, which announced that they still voted 44.82 percent. of the 14.4 million registered voters.
The CNE plenary thus proclaimed the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, head of the MPLA list, the most voted party and vice-president, Esperança da Costa, second on the MPLA list.
The MPLA leader and candidate for his succession, João Lourenço, claimed this Monday the "unequivocal" victory of the ruling party in the elections of the 24th, which gave the "absolute majority" to the MPLA.
UNITA announced this Tuesday that it will file a complaint with suspensive effects of the election results announced by the CNE and informed that it had become aware of them through the public media.
