Candidates for the presidency of UNITA present between the 4th and 11th of November

The announcement was made by Anastácio Sicato, spokesman for the XIII Congress, who presented the schedule of preparations for the conclave where the new leaders will be elected, after the ruling of the Constitutional Court that annulled the decisions taken at the XIII Congress held in 2019, and the direction that resulted from it.

The TC gave reason to a group of alleged UNITA militants who pointed out alleged irregularities, including the dual nationality of Adalberto da Costa Júnior at the date of presentation of his candidacy for elections for the XIII Congress, in a ruling that the opposition party classified as " merely political".

UNITA decided, however, to abide by the decision and decided that the previous leader, Isaías Samakuva, would again preside over the party in this transitional phase until a new leadership is constituted.

Anastácio Sicato said that candidates who ran for the previous congress can stand again, and it has not yet been decided whether the future president of the party will be, or not, the head of the list in the next general elections, scheduled for 2022.

He also declined to go into details about whether there would be more candidates vying for leadership with the elected president, Adalberto da Costa Júnior, limiting himself to saying that UNITA militants and leaders had been holding "talks" about possible alternative candidacies.

He also added that "there is no impediment" if Isaias Samakuva wants to re-apply, although the leader, who has been at the head of UNITA for 16 years, has repeatedly denied this intention.

Anastácio Sicato also said that there will be an electoral campaign: "We will have time for the electoral campaign, if there are 2, 3 4 candidates, the campaign will be more dynamic, if only one candidate appears, there will be a campaign anyway".
The XIII Congress, convened for December 3rd and 4th, will have 1150 delegates who will be elected by base activists in the preparatory conferences.

On the 3rd and 4th of November the communal conferences will be held, on the 8th, the municipal conferences will be held and on the 13th of November the provincial conferences are open to observers outside UNITA, provided they are accredited for the purpose, he explained. the spokesperson.

Candidates for the presidency will be presented from the 4th to the 11th of November, with the tabulation being made on the 12th, the day on which the draw for the ballot papers will also be made.

The mandates of delegates will have to be certified, a process that runs until the 25th of November, followed by accreditation between the 26th and 27th of November.

The 29th and 30th of November are reserved for the arrival of delegates to the congress.

On December 1st, delegates will be able to debate their proposals with the candidates, with the congress starting the following day.

On December 4th, the congress will be concluded with the election of the party president and members of the political commission.

On December 5th, the first meeting of the political commission takes place to elect, the election of vice president, secretary general and assistant secretary general.