Luanda - The National Assembly Thursday approved an adjustment to the composition of the National Electoral Commission and ‘rejected’ UNITA's request to re-examine the distribution of members.
The National Electoral Commission is made up of 17 members, 16 of whom are appointed by the National Assembly, by an absolute majority of the deputies in office through a proposal of the political parties with parliamentary seats, obeying the principles of majority rule and respect for parliamentary minorities.
According to the proposal, the MPLA will be represented by nine seats, UNITA with four, while the PRS, FNLA and PHA will occupy one seat each.
MPs of the largest opposition party UNITA, walked out of the 1st extraordinary session discontent with the decision, as they believe that, in the light of the 2022 election results, UNITA alone should not be the one to give up the three seats out of respect for the principle of minorities.
Speaking to the press, UNITA’s leader, Adalberto Costa Júnior, said his party abandoned the session because the ruling MPLA parliamentary group has shown that, ‘in order to maintain in power, it needs to control the CNE and the Constitutional Court.
For MPLA MP Milonga Bernardo, UNITA refers to the law, but at some point, either in the specialized debates or in today's request to the National Assembly, it refers to some legal provision.
‘So it's not enough to say the law. What is the legal provision that supports the foundation of the UNITA parliamentary group?’ he asked.
The MPLA Mp explained that the exercise here is simple, since his party’s parliamentary group nominates eight representatives to the CNE and the opposition parties also nominate eight, as UNITA initially referred to, we don't have a majority, there is a violation of the law.
‘We are violating the majority principle. Because here we would be admitting that whoever has the majority nominates eight and whoever has the minority also nominates eight. That doesn't make any sense. Therefore, the MPLA cannot be invited and does not even accept breaking the law”, the MP said.
The Draft Resolution approving the Adjustment of the Composition of the National Electoral Commission was approved with 116 votes in favor, none against and one abstention, from the FNLA.ART/DAN/AMP
