Angola’s main opposition party challenges election results

By Catarina Demony

LISBON (Reuters) -Angola’s primary opposition celebration on Tuesday stated it had submitted authorized complaints difficult the electoral fee’s discovering that the governing celebration gained final week’s election however the physique stated it had not acquired any complaints associated to it.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the opposition celebration, the Nationwide Union for the Complete Independence of Angola (UNITA), stated the complaints would have the impact of suspending the declaration of outcomes of the vote.

Fee spokesperson Lucas Quilundo advised reporters not one of the complaints it had acquired thus far have been associated to the ultimate election outcomes, however later stated he had rejected two complaints filed by UNITA associated to the electoral course of and the outcomes.

After essentially the most carefully fought election since independence from Portugal in 1975, the fee declared the ruling Individuals’s Motion for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) the winner, prolonging its almost 5 a long time of uninterrupted rule and handing President Joao Lourenco a second time period.

Simply over 51% of voters had supported the ex-Marxist MPLA, it stated. UNITA, its longtime opponent and former civil conflict enemy, took about 44%, its finest consequence ever, in accordance with the fee.

A letter despatched by UNITA, seen by Reuters, stated the celebration’s consultant on the fee “was not granted the correct to report within the consequence sheet his grievance in regards to the electoral outcomes”. The letter stated the consultant rejected the outcomes.

“The nationwide outcomes have been already authorized with out being challenged so the matter couldn’t be considered,” Quilundo stated, explaining why the grievance was rejected.

UNITA chief Adalberto Costa Junior has repeatedly stated up to now few days that he doesn’t recognise the outcomes of the vote and that complaints have been filed.

“UNITA reiterates that it’s going to not recognise the outcomes introduced by the Nationwide Electoral Fee till the complaints already in its possession are resolved,” the celebration stated in its Tuesday assertion.

Underneath Angola’s guidelines, if UNITA needs to problem the outcomes it should first lodge a grievance with the fee.

One other UNITA grievance asking the fee to overview the ends in the province of Moxico was rejected, Quilundo stated, explaining that the one who submitted the grievance didn’t have legitimacy to take action.

Quilundo didn’t point out a grievance submitted by UNITA on Aug. 26 asking for Luanda’s outcomes to be reviewed.

UNITA spokesperson Alcino Kuvalela advised Reuters the celebration would submit the complaints once more and if the fee rejected them once more, UNITA would don’t have any choice however to take the matter to the Constitutional Courtroom, which should rule inside 72 hours of receiving them.

    Angola’s Constitutional Courtroom is led by Laurinda Cardoso, a former MPLA member who was appointed by Lourenco in August 2021. Analysts say the MPLA controls the courtroom however Lourenco says it workouts its powers independently.

Former Constitutional Courtroom President Manuel Aragao resigned final yr after he voted in opposition to constitutional amendments which he described as “suicide of the democratic rule and regulation”.

Angolan political analyst Edmilson Angelo stated UNITA was more likely to finally settle for defeat however would proceed to reject the hole in votes.

“This may enable them to be coherent with their place on the electoral course of whereas on the similar time soften the sensation of disruption which can erupt,” Angelo stated.

Analysts say any dispute may ignite road protests however that has not occurred thus far.

The MPLA and UNITA, previously anti-colonial guerrilla teams, have been on opposing sides of the post-independence civil conflict that lasted till 2002, when Angolan troops killed UNITA’s insurgent chief, Jonas Savimbi.

Lourenco, 68, has pledged to press on with reforms in his second time period, together with privatising poorly run state belongings and persevering with to scrub up corruption after investigating rich and highly effective members of the Dos Santos household.

The MPLA’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Spain in July, had dominated Angola from 1979 till 2017, when he handed energy to Lourenco.

Lourenco’s reforms have thus far did not create a fairer distribution of Angola’s huge oil wealth – it’s Africa’s second largest producer – which stays principally within the palms of some well-connected MPLA officers.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Writing by Francesco Guarascio; Modifying by Bradley Perrett, Angus MacSwan and Sandra Maler)