Luanda - The current leader of the Social Renewal Party (PRS) Benedito Daniel will run alone for the leadership of the political group at the 5th Ordinary Congress, scheduled for 2, 3 and 4 April, with the participation of more than a thousand delegates in Luanda.
According to the daily public newspaper Jornal de Angola, in its Tuesday edition, the candidature of former PRS MP , Sapalo António, and the political group's youth leader, Gaspar Fernandes, have both been ruled out of the election for the party's future president.
According to Ndoji Vieira, coordinator of the National Preparatory Commission for the V Ordinary Congress of the PRS, quoted by the newspaper, the candidacy of Sapalo António was rejected due to the fact that he had been demoted from the category of member of the Political Council for attempting to create a political party.
Regarding the candidacy of Gaspar Fernandes, the party's youth leader, Ndoji Vieira said that the candidacy was also rejected because he had not been a member of the party for more than 15 years.
Cláudio Ricai, spokesman for the candidacy of former MP Sapalo António, said that in fact they were already prepared for the "this rule out scenario", since, in his opinion, a "suitable conditions " have been prepared for Mr Benedito Daniel.
According to the source, the outgoing president knows that if he runs with other candidates, he runs the risk of losing, which is why they have sought out all the elements that are not part of the statutes, in order to fail the other candidates.
"We expected the PRS to set an example of democracy, but here it shows that it is a party that is working to bring down democracy in the country," Ricai said.
The spokesman for Sapalo António's candidacy also revealed that his team has already lodged an injunction to the Constitutional Court to invalidate the 5th PRS Congress scheduled for April.
Alberto Quinhumba, the representative of candidate Gaspar Fernandes, who was also "rejected", emphasized that they had already imagined this, given the fear of candidate Benedito Daniel.
"They evoked an article that talks about the time a candidate must have to run. And the same line doesn't say that we have to wait for the month and the day when the candidate turns those years," he clarified.
The PRS is a political party founded in 1990 with representation in the National Assembly. The party defines itself as centre-left with a federalist and progressive ideology.
In the last elections held in 2022, according to the final results, the PRS won 1.14 percent, 71,351 votes (02 deputies). VIC/AMP
