Luanda – Angola is holding this Wednesday, 24, its fifth elections in the history of the country, aimed at choosing the new President of the Republic, Vice President of the Republic and the deputies to the National Assembly (parliament).
For the August 24 general elections, 14.3 million citizens are registered to vote, of whom 22,560 residing abroad, spread over 25 cities from 12 countries in Africa, Europe and South America.
Eight political forces are standing for the 2022 polls, namely MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, APN, PHA, P-NJANGO and the CASA-CE coalition.
Similarly to the polls held in 1992, 2008, 2012 and 2017, the youth will have a crucial role in choosing the new government for the 2022-2027 term, after actively participating in the different electoral campaigns.
Data from the Computer File of the Adult Citizens (FICM), made available by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) indicate that roughly 3.56,324 (3.5 million) are young people aged between 18 and 25, thus being the most representative nucleus of this electoral process.
According to the FICM, the next most representaive group in this process is between 25 and 30 years of age, representing 2,121,912 (2.1 million), of which 2,664 did their electoral registration abroad.
Among the voters, 22,560 reside outside the country.
In Africa, the voting process is taking place in South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg); in Namibia (Windhoek, Oshakati and Rundu), DR Congo (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Matadi), Republic of Congo (Brazzaville, Dolisie and Pointe Noire), plus Zambia (Lusaka, Mongu and Solwezi).
Outside the African continent, there will be voting in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and São Paulo), Germany (Berlin), Belgium (Brussels), in France (Paris), United Kingdom (London), Portugal (Lisbon and Oporto) and The Netherlands (Haia and Roterdam).
In the ambit of the moment, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) has set up countrywide 13,238 Polling Stations, with 26,443 Voting Tables (one ballot box on each table), while abroad there is a total of 26 polling stations and 45 voting tables.
To guarantee the best work, roughly 105,952 citizens have been trained to secure the adequate functioning of the polling stations.
Trivia
Seven political parties and a coalition are standing for the 2022 elections. They are the MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, APN, PHA, P-NJANGO and the CASA-CE coalition.
The FNLA, founded in 1954, is the oldest party, while PHA and P-NJANGO were legalised as parties this year, thus being the youngest political organisations in this electoral race.
The MPLA, UNITA, FNLA and PRS participated in the previous four elections (1992, 2008, 2012 e 2017).
So far, the MPLA won all the elections.
In regard to the presidential candidates, Manuel Fernandes (CASA-CE), 50 years old, is the youngest one, whereas the FNLA leader, Nimi a Nsimbi, 71, is the oldest presidential candidate.
Quintino Moreira, presidential candidate of the APN, is running for this post the most times, this being the third one, after doing it in 2012 and 2017.
In this respect, he is followed by the candidates of the MPLA, João Lourenço, and the PRS, Benedito Daniel, who debuted in the 2017 general elections. João Lourenço is seeking re-election.
The other five candidates, namely Adalberto Costa Júnior (UNITA), Manuel Fernandes (CASA-CE), Nimi a Simbi (FNLA), Florbela Malaquias (PHA) and Eduardo ”Dinho” Chinguinji (P-NJANGO) entered the presidential race for the first time.
The PHA leader, Florbela Malaquias, is the only female presidential candidate.
History
After an orderly and peaceful electoral campaign, Angolans are going to the polls this Wednesday to renew presidential and parliamentary mandates.
In these fifth general elections, the country will elect, in a single act, a new President of the Republic, the Vice President of the Republic and 220 MPs.
For the first time, electoral registration was also conducted abroad, so 22.560 Angolans in the diaspora are registered and should be casting ballots for the first time outside the country.
The previous elections took place on 23 August 2017 and had the participation of six political forces. The 2017 polls had a participation of 76.57 per cent of the 9.3 million registered voters.
The 2017 suffrage was won by the MPLA with 61 per cent, followed by UNITA (26.67%) and CASA-CE (9,44%).
