Luanda - Angolan members of National Assembly Thursday said to expect the elections of August 24 be held in a climate of peace and fairness, and appealed to candidates to adopt a patriotic feeling through the promotion of civic engagement.
This was during a debate on "Maintenance of Order and Public Security before, during and after the General Elections", proposed by the ruling MPLA party’s parliamentary group.
Reading the report that served as the basis for the topic under consideration, MPLA MP Serafim do Prado said that political parties, coalitions of parties and public and private institutions must refrain from inciting the people and their militants to violence or the practice of acts of vandalism.
According to him, political parties must guide their militants, sympathizers and friends to respect the rules of conduct of electoral competition, the governing bodies of the electoral process, "because elections are purely a process of democratic consolidation of the State".
To him, "whoever wins doesn't win everything and whoever loses doesn't lose everything, but everyone wins with a civic, peaceful and orderly electoral process".
He urged the media to act with rigour and professionalism and refrain from publishing unofficial election results, as well as from transmitting or publishing messages inciting hatred and violence.
The MP recommended civil and criminal accountability to citizens, public and private institutions that during the electoral process violate the Electoral Code of Conduct, the Organic Law on Elections and other laws relating to the electoral process.
As for Amélia Judith Ernesto of UNITA, she said she believes that "a well-conducted electoral process, guided by fairness and transparency in whose results all competitors can take into account, does not represent any increased risk in terms of instability".
According to her, the fears that arise around the maintenance of order and security after the elections "are only justified because fairness and transparency do not always go hand-in-hand on the path that leads to the elections on 24 August.
She appealed to contestants to take care of "language hygiene" during the election, so that it takes place in a civic, peaceful and orderly environment.
In turn, Lucas Ngonda, from the FNLA, noted that the full functioning of the instructions and the holding of fair and peaceful elections constitute the existence of a democratic state governed by law.
He is of the view that the upcoming elections are a feast for democracy and should not pose a threat to peace and national reconciliation.
Whereas, the leader of the parliamentary group of the CASA-CE coalition, Alexandre Sebastião André, appealed to the contestants for a conciliatory speech, which should remove incitement to hatred and violence.
The same position was defended by the MP of the PRS, Benedito Daniel, who congratulated the parliamentary group of the MPLA for having brought up the subject under discussion.
He noted that in an election, the maintenance of order and security poses a certain challenge to the National Police, as at the moment it means a celebration of democracy, where the police must watch over the fundamental rights of citizens.
Timely topic
The National Assembly Speaker, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, described as timely the debate on the topic in view of the times ahead and which forces the MPs to reflect on the importance of their role during the campaign and after the General Elections ".
He congratulated the members of National Assembly "on, once again, having shown great political maturity, essential for the coexistence that has always characterised them and for the brilliant and responsible way in which the various interventions were presented".
