"The voter card will be discontinued and in 2027 the ID Card will be enough when people go to vote," said Marcy Lopes, during a press conference held this Thursday in Lisbon, following visits he made to Angola's consulates in Portuguese capital and Porto.
For now, the Government is still focused on the first elections in which Angolan emigrants will have the possibility to exercise their right to vote in the diaspora, through the presentation of the Identity Card, which will serve to update the electoral register.
"The criterion [to be able to vote] is the existence of the BI in the BI database," said the official, noting that even if the citizen does not have that document, he can vote as long as he is registered at the consulate of the country where he is.
"Every citizen without an ID or who has never had an ID should take care of the ID here in Lisbon, where there is a fixed post, or in Porto, allowing the citizen to have his/her document and to update the electoral register", said Marcy Lopes, adding that at the consulates the process is being streamlined so that no one is prevented from voting.
The process of new electoral registration is already underway in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, where the largest Angolan diasporas are located, since 2020.
Angola plans to hold general elections next year, in the third week of August, and it will be the first time that emigrants will be able to vote, as their electoral capacity was enshrined in the Angolan Constitution only this year.
Marcy Lopes is in Portugal to "check the state of preparation of the diplomatic and consular mission" in the country for the unofficial electoral registration.
