Luanda – The Eighth Ordinary Congress of the ruling MPLA party, started Thursday in Luanda with around 2,000 delegates, aims to prepare the party for next year's general elections.
In addition to the electoral strategy, the event will also change the internal documents, such as the programme and statutes.
The participants will also elect the leader of the political organisation and central committee, in addition to approving strategic motions and other fundamental instruments on the life of the MPLA and the country.
MPLA has already held 14 congresses, with the first held from 4th to the 10th of December 1977, under the leadership of the late President António Agostinho Neto.
The party changed the name, becoming the MPLA-Partido do Trabalho (MPLA Labour party).
The First Extraordinary Congress occurred on 17- 23 December 1980, during which it confirmed José Eduardo dos Santos as the party’s leader and having created the People's Assembly, the first Angolan parliament.
It also adopted the Provincial Popular Assemblies, the first tests for the creation of the Local Powers in the country.
The second Ordinary Congress of the MPLA was in 1985, underlining the need to improve the political and ideological training of its members and improve the leadership capacity of its staff.
In 1990, the third Ordinary Congress took place, whose main decision was the adoption of the principles of preparation of the country for multi-party system and market-oriented economy, in view of the political, economic and social transformations that were taking place in almost all of the world, mainly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war.
The second Extraordinary Congress, held in April 1991, opened the party to the entry of militants of various sensibilities, while the third Extraordinary Congress, held in May 1992, changed the name to MPLA only, removing the appendix of the Labour Party, urging for "reunification of the MPLA family".
From the 5th to the 10th of December 1998, the fourth Ordinary Congress was held, under the motto "MPLA - Firm, towards the 21st century", which clarified democratic socialism as the ideological basis of the party.
The fifth Ordinary Congress took place from 06 to 09 December 2003, while the sixth happened from 07 to 10 December 2009, when the party reoriented its policy towards greater participation in the life of the country, in favour of satisfaction of the legitimate interests of the Angolan people.
The fourth Extraordinary Congress, held from 29 to 30 April 2011, took place under the motto "MPLA - More Democracy, More Development", aimed at engaging all activists in the preparation and participation in the general elections of August 2012, while the fifth Extraordinary took place in December 2014.
At the seventh Ordinary Congress, João Lourenço was elected vice president of the MPLA and head of the list for the August 2017 general elections.
At the Sixth Extraordinary Congress, held in 2018, João Lourenço was elected MPLA president, replacing José Eduardo dos Santos, who has headed the party since 1979, after the death of António Agostinho Neto from illness.
In June 2019, the seventh Extraordinary Congress was held, which reaffirmed the fight against corruption, nepotism, flattery and impunity, which has been implemented in the country in recent years.
The MPLA was founded on December 10, 1956.
