The protest took place at the end of the opening ceremony of the new legislative year, in which the head of state gave, by constitutional imperative, a speech on the state of the nation.
Speaking to the press, the second vice president of the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Maurílio Luyele, considered the speech “an unreliable portrait of what is the real situation in the country”.
"The President presented a dynamic economy, which, however, does not bring bread to our tables, the difficulties are all known and for that reason our appreciation is negative, manifested by this red card", he said.
Maurílio Luyele also criticized the fact that the President was not committed to the municipal electoral process, saying only that "it would be irresponsible to carry out municipalities before the end of the year".
João Lourenço said in his speech that the municipal elections planned for this year, “were not postponed, because they were never called”, stressing that it would be “unrealistic and irresponsible” to hold the vote this year.
"Of course, the summons never were, but there was a commitment to carry them out this year 2020. The summons is the official act that would be carried out, but there was a commitment to carry them out this year," said Maurílio Luyele.
The deputy stated that “conditions are created”, stressing that “the moment in the sense of postponing municipal elections is before the pandemic” of covid-19.
"We felt that and already in January we mentioned this, before the covid-19 pandemic had taken off in full force," he said.
The head of state addressed the holding of municipal elections this year, as recommended by the Council of the Republic in 2018 and “accepted” by the executive, but stressed that there are no conditions as the necessary legislative package has not been completed.
“It does not seem fair and correct to say that the elections have been postponed. Elections that have never been called are not postponed and elections are not called without being based on a legal basis under penalty of not being considered valid ”, he affirmed, in an allusion to the criticisms of the opposition, which accuses the MPLA Government of breaking the promise on the municipalities .
João Lourenço guaranteed that “everyone” is interested in the holding of these elections, which will take place for the first time in Angola and that “a new type of power will emerge, which will certainly alleviate the burden of responsibility that today falls the State in solving the daily problems that afflict the citizen ”.
But he stressed, on the other hand, that "everyone", from the executive, to parliament, political parties, the National Electoral Commission and civil society, are responsible for creating the necessary conditions "to guarantee the success of this process", which he claims is more close to materializing than in 2018.
"I believe that all the institutions mentioned here are suitable to the point of not defending the holding of elections before the end of this year, because it would be unrealistic and highly irresponsible", he pointed out.
