Last Saturday, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the party in power since the country gained independence in 1975, marked the start of the mobilization of militants and supporters, to show their popularity, with marches in support of their leader and President of Angola, João Lourenço, whom UNITA wants to remove.
The "comrades" march took place nationwide, including a huge rally in Luanda, led by the first provincial secretary of the MPLA and governor of the capital, Manuel Homem.
The relaunch of the political and patriotic days under the motto "My CAP, My Party, to "close ranks around Comrade João Lourenço", had the participation of distinguished leaders and saw Manuel Homem reaffirm that citizens and militants must be " vigilantes" against the enemies of national stability.
"Do not let yourself be manipulated by fallacies and let us defend our leader, at all levels, in the province of Luanda. It is the responsibility of all militants to preserve the victorious path of our party", said the party leader at the time.
On the other hand, the MPLA spokesman, Rui Falcão, made it clear that the threat of dismissal does not concern the ruling party.
"Come the secret ballot, for them [UNITA] to take a definitive beating. If that's what they want, and if the law allows it, the MPLA is not afraid of this. And 100 percent of MPLA deputies will not vote in favor of this", he told DW.
"The MPLA is strong because its base is strong. We must guide the party at the base and walk together towards victory in 2027", Manuel Homem also appealed to supporters who flocked to Largo das Escolas, the same place where this Saturday, the 5th of August, UNITA will gather its supporters.
The mass act of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), announced on Tuesday, is also part of the celebration of the birthday of the party's founder, Jonas Savimbi, born on 3 August 1934 and died on 22 February 2002 by government troops.
This will be the central act of the commemorative activities, and will be presided over by the president of UNITA Adalberto da Costa Júnior, being preceded by a march starting at the Santa Ana cemetery.
At a press conference, Álvaro Chikuamanga Daniel, secretary general of UNITA, stressed that the country is experiencing "a deep and multifaceted crisis" resulting from the bad governance of the current regime that has aggravated the suffering of Angolan families, "many of them forced to look for food in containers of trash".
"It was not for this Angola that the signatories of the Alvor agreements fought", he said, alluding to the leaders of the three Angolan national liberation movements, Jonas Savimbi (UNITA), António Agostinho Neto (MPLA) and Holden Roberto (FNLA).
Álvaro Daniel evoked the thoughts of the three leaders and the "patriotism" of Jonas Savimbi, on the eve of the date that marks the birthday of the founder of UNITA, to talk about what he intended to be "a journey of reflection" on Angola.
"A country where the regime insists on not implementing municipal power and" uses blackmail "when" it raises the ax of war against the legitimate demands "of workers and young people, he accused.
The same official also pointed to a "cluttered regime that deliberately instills confusion, sows rumors and fear", using a "muscled speech" to counter the initiative to remove João Lourenço that UNITA wants to take to the National Assembly.
"A political initiative perfectly covered by the Constitution that he [the MPLA-backed Angolan regime, in power since 1975] exclusively approved in 2010," he continued.
In the main electoral square of the country, with more than 10 million inhabitants, about a third of the total Angolan population, UNITA was for the first time the most voted party in the elections that took place on August 22, 2022.
Meanwhile, the MPLA also announced for this Saturday another act in support of João Lourenço, in Sambizanga, a poor and populous district of Luanda, where a march is also planned.
