This is the second UNITA case regarding the impeachment of the President that the Constitutional Court has rejected.
In December of last year, the UNITA parliamentary group sent two legal cases to the Constitutional Court, following a turbulent parliamentary session on 14 September, in which the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) blocked the process of impeachment of the President of the Republic presented by the opposition, in a meeting held behind closed doors.
Of the two cases, one, on the Successive Abstract Review of the Constitutionality of a Rule of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, was decided in April of this year, with the Constitutional Court rejecting the request for partial unconstitutionality of a rule of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly used during the impeachment process in which the majority of the MPLA blocked the initiative of the largest opposition party.
The other, on Parliamentary Dispute – UNITA wanted to challenge alleged defects found in the Extraordinary Plenary Session held on 14 October 2023, by the National Assembly – has now reached its conclusion through the ruling in which the Constitutional Court ruled against the opposition.
"This Constitutional Court considers that there are no unconstitutionalities or legal non-conformities in the procedure adopted in the Extraordinary Plenary Session, held by the National Assembly", reads the ruling consulted by Lusa.
UNITA alleged several irregularities, including the failure to distribute the documents on the agenda to the parliamentary groups and working committees, the fact that the plenary session was not broadcast live and that the vote was open instead of secret, asking the Constitutional Court to declare the extraordinary plenary session held on 14 October 2023 null and void.
The plenary session was held behind closed doors, in a tense atmosphere, with opposition deputies shouting "shame on you" after the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the majority party, voted not to create a temporary committee on the process of indictment and impeachment of the President of the Republic, signed by 90 UNITA deputies.
"A meeting like this, in which the public interest is total, the MPLA chose to hold behind closed doors, proving that it is afraid of the people and of democratic debate", said the president of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Adalberto da Costa Júnior, to journalists at the time.
"What happened here is not in accordance with the law (...) We were invited to vote on nothing, there was no resolution, what happened here was nothing", said the political leader, calling for respect for democratic rules.
Despite the press being barred from entering the room, several deputies circulated videos of the session on social media, showing the tense atmosphere that was experienced, with opposition deputies raising their fists in the air, shouting "Angola belongs to the people, not to the MPLA", "shame", "dictatorship" and "fear".
For deputy Ju Martins (MPLA), what was at stake were "UNITA's tricks", which, after announcing that it would propose the impeachment of the President in July, was "simulating the involvement of civil society" and "managing this element" to present the initiative on the eve of the opening of the new parliamentary year.
"He did it on purpose," he accused, highlighting that the president of the assembly complied with the rules and convened the permanent committee to consider the matter, as was her responsibility.
