According to the Information Secretary of the MPLA's Political Bureau, Albino Carlos, Angola is a democratic state under the rule of law, where "the courts are independent," and his party "respects the decisions of the courts.
"We consider these statements unfounded and devoid of any reason. Perhaps Mr. Chivukuvuku wants to hide himself for some irregularity he may have committed in gratuitous and unfounded accusations," Albino Carlos said in statements to Lusa.
The politician stated that the MPLA "fought for independent courts, for all Angolans to have their defense in the courts," but stressed that it respects "the independence of institutions," and that the issue "has nothing to do" with his party.
Abel Chivukuvuku, coordinator of the political project PRA-JA Servir Angola, said this Tuesday that "he is being persecuted by the MPLA," accusing the ruling party's leadership of "guiding" the TC to not legalize its party.
"Because deep down it's not the TC, deep down what has failed us, repeatedly, is the MPLA's leadership, so what there are there are orientations from the MPLA's leadership and from President João [Lourenço], MPLA's president, is that it's giving orientations for the court to fail Abel", said Chivukuvuku, in an interview to the Angolan Catholic Broadcaster.
The coordinator of the project of the Partido do Renascimento Angolano-Juntos por Angola-Servir Angola (PRA-JA Servir Angola), which reacted to the third lead of the TC, in the process of legalization, said that that body "receives instructions" not to legalize its party.
Albino Carlos reiterated that Angola is a democratic state under the rule of law, where there is separation of powers and respect for institutions, guaranteeing that the MPLA "is a party that does not interfere in the management of justice cases.
The MPLA respects the independence and the separation of powers, so these statements do not make sense".
"The MPLA will continue to respect the sovereign decisions of the courts, the MPLA is a political party, the organs of justice and law are the ones who manage the issues of justice and rights, and in our country there is separation of powers," he assured.
The TC rejected the "extraordinary appeal of unconstitutionality" submitted by the PRA-JA Servir Angola installation commission, led by Abel Chivukuvuku, for "not making up for shortcomings" and making his request "indecipherable".
According to the August 27, 2020 ruling of the TC, consulted Monday by Lusa, the initially called "Extraordinary Appeal for Violation" filed by PRA-JA Servir Angola instead of making up for shortcomings "demonstrates a clear intention to confuse the Constitutional.
For the Information Secretary of the MPLA's Political Bureau, the Chivukuvuku statements "have no basis" and advise this politician to "complain to the courts if he feels his rights are not being safeguarded.
"In Angola, as a democratic country, the courts are independent and any political party must respect the decisions of the courts, he [Abel Chivukuvuku] who claims his rights," he said.
But, he noted, to accuse a political force of a court decision "does not make any sense, it is unfounded.
Asked about a possible fear of the MPLA for Abel Chivukuvuku's resurgence on the political scene, Albino Carlos recalled that his party "conducted the process so that Angola would be independent and not afraid.
"So how could a party that conducted the process so that we would be independent, a party that established democracy, that won the last elections, be afraid of a party that doesn't even exist," he said.
This is the third time the TC has rejected an appeal from the PRA-JA Servir Angola installation commission with insufficient signatures for its legalization for one of the reasons.
The process of legalizing PRA-JA Servir Angola has been underway since November 2019, when the political formation sent 23,492 signatures to the court, 19,000 of which were rejected, with various justifications, including minority and lack of authenticity of residence certificates.
