Luanda - Members of Angolan civil society, of religious organizations, the diplomatic body of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, on Thursday in Luanda, highlighted the organization and functioning of the National Scrutiny Centre.
At the end of a visit to the premises of the Scrutiny Centre, organized by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), as part of preparations for the 24 August general elections, the former chairman of the Angolan Bar Association (OAA), Manuel Gonçalves, said there had been a significant investment, with the essential aim of ensuring the transparency of all the acts of the process.
He said he left the National Scrutiny Centre with a very positive impression, because he had the opportunity to compare theoretical knowledge, related to existing legislation on electoral matters, with the practical way in which the entire scrutiny process will take place.
“The various components of the different sessions, which we have found to exist here at this Scrutiny Centre, gives us a guarantee that the process may come about with a fair balance, and that CNE and its various bodies may operate with transparency, impartiality and guarantee results that are aligned with the will of the voters”, emphazised the official.
On his turn, António Sawanga, president of the Movangola organization, congratulated the CNE for having allowed the doubts to be cleared up, in a transparent way, leaving the Centre´s premises “very conscious and enlightened about how the process will work”.
João Lusivikweno, who represented the “Eu Acredito” (I Believe) project, welcomed the invitation from the CNE, which shows availability and openness of the institution, adding that he left “with a very good impression and hope that these many young people trained for this purpose can do good Job”.
The Zambian ambassador accredited in Angola, Lawrence Chalungumana, said that the diplomats had the impression that the system was prepared and that the CNE was also prepared to hold the elections.
The diplomat also said that, after interacting with the president of CNE and some commissioners, they were satisfied with the information that had been shared, as well as the confidence in the process.
He stressed the fact that Angola is a member state of SADC, which arouses the interest of the region in the electoral process and that it may run smoothly.
The president of the SADC Electoral Commissions Forum, Alberto José Sabe, said that CNE was prepared, in terms of equipment, and was convinced that “we will have the elections that everyone wants as being free, fair and credible”.
According to CNE spokesman, Lucas Quilundo, this is yet another exercise developed by his institution as part of the process of preparing for the elections as a sign of openness because it is a transparent process and all the procedures adopted for the tallying of results are safe and must be free of any suspicions.
For this year’s ballot, roughly 14.3 million voters are registered, of which 22,560 are in the diaspora.
Seven political parties, namely MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, APN, P-NJANGO and PH, plus one electoral coalition, the CASA-CE, are running in the country’s fifth general elections.
