Angola: opponent Adalberto Costa Junior believes that "Unita won the elections"
The leader of the opposition party Unita, presidential candidate Adalberto Costa Junior, during a meeting on August 22, 2022. AFP - JOHN WESSELS
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The candidate of Unita, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, the main opposition party, claims victory in the August 24 general elections in Angola.
Adalberto Costa Junior spoke on his Twitter account this Friday, September 2.
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According
to the results of the National Electoral Commission
, published on Monday, it is the MPLA, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, in power since independence, which wins with just over 51% of the vote.
Since the publication of the first provisional results, the day after the vote, Unita and other opposition parties have contested the vote count by the CNE, which they accuse of fraud.
On Twitter, Adalberto Costa Junior proclaimed loud and clear this Friday: “
We have taken legal action to cancel the elections.
(...) Unita won the elections!
We will defend the sovereignty of the people and their vote.
»
Não aceitamos os resultados eleitorais divulgados.
Interpusemos uma ação legal para anular as eleições.
Esperamos que a CNE compares as actas que tem com as que two aos partidos da oposição.
Angolanos a UNITA ganhou as eleições!
Vamos defender a soberania do povo eo seu voto.
— Adalberto Costa Júnior (@AdalbertoCostaJ) September 1, 2022
On Thursday, Unita announced that it had started a procedure with the Constitutional Court, to ask for the cancellation
of the August 24 elections
.
“
Each judge will decide on his role in history,
continues Adalberto Costa Junior,
to be responsible for electoral fraud or to choose democracy.
»
►
To read also:
Angola: the provisional results of the general elections still contested by Unita
According to the parallel count by the civil society organization Mudei, the MPLA and Unita are tied with 48% of the vote.
In his observation report, presented this Friday morning, Mudei points to “
an instrumentalization of institutions by the Party-State, which deeply undermines the credibility of the electoral process.
»
Already on Thursday, the observation mission of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé, denounced irregularities.
Its secretary, Father Celestino Epalanga, assured that he would closely monitor the ongoing claims and asked "
all electoral agents, especially those of the CNE, to stick to the sole application of the law
" .
.
Unita's strategy
Since the start of the electoral dispute, the party has promised to go all the way to bring the truth to light.
But until the end of what?
“
We will reach the truth thanks to our work,
explains Marcial Dachala, spokesperson for Unita.
That is to say our collection of electoral reports and their comparison with the results of the CNE.
»
“
Unita must use its mobilization potential to obtain concessions from the MPLA
, ” Fatima Roque, a former party executive
,
told the Lusa agency.
According to her, Unita must push the government to allow local elections.
As for the mobilization of the street, the party refuses for the time being to play this card.
“
We have total confidence in the maturity of our voters,
” continues Marcial Dachala.
With 44% of the votes, Unita has already won a first victory according to Sergio Calundungo, director of the Political Observatory of Angola.
“
From now on, the MPLA can no longer govern alone.
To set aside such a proportion of the population would be very expensive
,” he concludes.
►
To read also:
Elections in Angola: Adalberto Costa Junior contests the victory of the MPLA
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