Rui Falcão, secretary for Information of the Political Bureau of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), said that he did not have access to the letter from Cláudio da Piedade Dias dos Santos, which was sent to the office of the President of the party and of Angola, João Lourenço, dated December 1, 2023.
"I have not had access to this document, I have not yet seen the document and as such, I do not know its content other than what I saw on social media and does not appeal to that, this document makes known the existence of a movement, but this is democracy", he replied to Lusa.
Cláudio da Piedade Dias dos Santos, son of Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos "Nandó", historic MPLA activist, former prime minister and vice-president of the Republic, in the José Eduardo dos Santos era, and former president of parliament, will have sent a letter to João Lourenço's office noting that he leads a civic movement called "Chegamos".
In the letter, the signatory informs that he has started a process of collecting signatures to hold an extraordinary MPLA congress with a view to deliberating on the party's leadership and the preparation of the next elections.
Lusa sent questions to Cláudio Dias dos Santos about the movement's objectives, with no response so far.
Rui Falcão, on the other hand, highlighted that the MPLA is not in internal elections and the next congress is still far away, considering that this is a normal intention, as long as it respects the party's statutes.
"If he follows the rules and respects the statutes, what's the problem with him running for office? If he comes and many more come, if this is the case, (...) it's just another expression of will", he argued.
Cláudio Dias dos Santos says he intends to open a debate to recover the ideals of social justice, concord and political and social stability, considering that the country's financial and socioeconomic reality "is precarious and the public wear and tear on the executive and, consequently, on our party it's real".
The letter was sent to the office of the MPLA president, after the existence of the movement headed by Cláudio da Piedade Dias dos Santos was publicized on social media.
Rui Falcão, who was speaking to the press as part of the celebrations of the 67th anniversary of the MPLA, marked on December 10th, assured that his party "is democratic and is calm" so the expression of interest from a militant does not shake the structures of the organization.
The next general elections in Angola are scheduled for 2027, with the next MPLA congress, which won the 2022 elections, expected to be held in 2025, with João Lourenço now serving his second and final term, constitutionally enshrined.
Asked whether the alleged candidacy of Cláudio da Piedade Dias dos Santos translates into the existence of internal currents to promote multiple candidacies for the leadership of the MPLA, Falcão considered that the "individual will cannot be transferred to the collective".
"I don't know if this will correspond to an internal current, the individual will cannot be transported to the collective in this way, I can think differently from the members of the Political Bureau, have my opinion, but this means that I am outside the framework the opinion of the Political Bureau?", he asked.
The MPLA, he continued, has 5027 grassroots organizations, 264 municipal committees, 18 provincial committees, as well as a central committee, a political bureau and its secretariat.
The deputy to the National Assembly also praised the party's internal rejuvenation process and the integration of more women in prominent positions, considering this to be a responsibility commitment assumed by the MPLA, despite many "seeing ghosts where there are none".
"This is the dynamic of M (as the MPLA is also called) who lives with this tranquility, we are already used to seeing ghosts where they don't exist, there are people who don't sleep just looking for these ghosts, but we are here calmly doing what our work, to meet our goals" concluded Rui Falcão.
