Albino Pakisi recalled that, when he became President of the Republic in 2018, when the party kept his predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos, as its president, João Lourenço contested the bicephaly that had been created, due to the interference it generated in his management of the country.
“The big truth is that this [the proposal to change the statutes] is what we want, in principle, at least I personally, as an analyst, what I really want is for the presidents of the political parties not to be at the same time Presidents of the Republic and candidates for President of the Republic”, he said.
According to the analyst, there would be “a very clear separation, which would actually work”, in the sense of separating the country’s issues from those of the party, although he admits that the MPLA statutes may condition the actions of a President of the Republic “who, in fact, has to follow the orders of the party president”.
“And here there is a very clear question posed by an MPLA intellectual at a conference, about “who has more power? The President of the Republic or the president of the MPLA?”. In fact, the one who has more power is the party president. However, the Constitution also says that no one will be above the President of the Republic. I want to see what will happen”, he emphasised.
The Angolan university professor also said he is “expectant” regarding this change in the statutes planned for the MPLA’s VIII extraordinary congress, which will take place between Monday and Wednesday next week, considering that, if it happens, two to three months after the 2027 general elections, “a kind of bicephaly” will be created, if the MPLA wins.
“But the truth is that the order of the President of the Republic will prevail over the party president. Because I do not believe that the intention of the president [of the MPLA], João Lourenço, to condition the [next] President of the Republic, if the MPLA wins the elections, will work”, stressed Albino Pakisi.
João Lourenço, who is serving his second term, is constitutionally barred from running again in 2027.
For the analyst, this “is a controversial congress, a very interesting congress”, although, at first, the announcement of this change “caused some surprise”, highlighting that the separation of these two figures is what all Angolans want.
“Here I could mention the president of UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola], Adalberto Costa Júnior, who says that if he is elected President of the Republic in 2027, the following day he will cease to be president of the party”, he stressed.
When asked whether a candidate for President of the Republic nominated by the party leader would be open and willing to make his own decisions, Albino Pakisi said that in 2017, this was exactly the situation: President João Lourenço was nominated by José Eduardo dos Santos, but immediately afterwards, he “did not obey” the party leader’s orders.
“I sincerely do not believe that if the MPLA wins the elections, whoever the candidate is, as President of the country, he will submit to the party president. It will not happen! We will be here to see”, he said, expressing his “deep skepticism” about a candidate who would follow the orders of the MPLA president, if he wins the elections in 2027.
According to the professor, this situation would be important for Angolans, “because the party will move in one way and the country has to move in another way”.
Among the controversies surrounding this congress, there is also a precautionary measure submitted to the Constitutional Court by an MPLA member, António Venâncio, who wants to run for the party leadership for the second time.
On this subject, Albino Pakisi said that, despite his long militancy, António Venâncio “does not have the same strength” as General Higino Carneiro, who has also been mentioned as a possible candidate, stressing that, although the Constitutional Court plays its role, the one who runs this institution “is the lobby that the MPLA has”.
