Valdir Cónego, a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), expressed his intention to run for president of the party and the Presidency of the Republic in 2024.
In the document requesting, on Thursday, the suspension of João Lourenço from the party leadership, the member argues that he sent a letter to the general secretariat of the MPLA Central Committee, with the knowledge of all its members, as required by the statutes, requesting the scheduling of an extraordinary meeting of this body "to suspend the president of the MPLA," but 45 days later, he has not received a response.
"I believe I have the right to write to the venerable judge, Laurinda Cardoso, who heads this institution and who swore in our MPLA leader as President of the Republic of Angola, and since this court oversees political parties' compliance with and respect for their statutes and the Constitution of the Republic, to authorize this precautionary measure for the reasons set out in the attached letter," he states.
According to Valdir Cónego, "President João Lourenço's lack of capacity and competence in managing the country's destiny is notorious, causing unpopularity within the MPLA."
The MPLA activist emphasized that "the country has entered a state of social collapse, where hunger, misery, and extreme poverty plague more than 25 million Angolan citizens." He highlighted that between July 28th and 30th, there was a "people's invasion of public and private stores and warehouses in the Angolan capital, Luanda, an act that spread throughout the provinces of Malanje, Huambo, Benguela, and Huíla," which prompted the prompt intervention of security forces.
"The cause of the vandalism is hunger, and the consequences were more severe, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 Angolan citizens, the fault of those who lead our nation, Angola—in this case, President João Lourenço."
According to Valdir Cónego, the people "no longer want President João Lourenço," and party members "are calling for his removal from the party leadership for tarnishing the good name and reputation of the MPLA over the past 50 years, being the worst president in Angolan history and in the history of the MPLA."
"Therefore, we request the withdrawal of his political trust within the MPLA, so that we can have multiple candidacies, since the party leader does not accept and even intimidates the pre-candidates for the MPLA presidency, as enshrined in our statutes in article 31, paragraph k)," he stated.
Valdir Cónego hopes that the precautionary measure "may lead the Central Committee to suspend the party president" so that a new one "who is capable of leading the party's destiny until the 9th ordinary congress in December 2026" can be elected.
"I must express as a militant that the departure of President João Lourenço will be important so that we can reconcile with the people and win the 2027 elections. If the MPLA leader continues, we will lose the 2027 elections and run the risk of exterminating our glorious MPLA," he argued, calling on João Lourenço to abandon the party leadership "with his own feet and with his own conscience for the good of all Angolans and for a better future for the MPLA."
