Despite being on a Saturday, the leaders of the parliamentary groups decided to keep the date, complying with the Constitution of the Republic, which determines that each legislative session begins on October 15 and lasts for one year.
In the message on the State of the Nation, João Lourenço should address "the policies recommended for the resolution of the main issues of the Nation and the well-being of Angolans", according to information available on the parliament's website.
This year, parliament will have the opposition in a prominent place for the first time, as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) won almost twice as many seats in the August 24 elections and managed to elect 90 deputies, out of a total of 220.
It is the only parliamentary group, in addition to the majority Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), that has emerged victorious in the five elections already held in Angola.
However, the MPLA, which elected the lowest number of deputies ever (124), this year lost voters' preference to UNITA in three economically relevant provinces: the capital, Luanda, and the oil-rich ones, Cabinda and Zaire.
The remaining six deputies are distributed among the debuting Humanist Party of Angola, the historic nationalist Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (FNLA) and the Social Renewal Party (PRS).
These political organizations elected two deputies, each insufficient to form a parliamentary group.
The results of the elections, considered the most disputed ever, were contested by the opposition, in particular UNITA, whose deputies decided, however, to take office to continue their struggle within the framework of state institutions, as justified by the president of the "Black Rooster", Adalberto Costa Júnior.
