The President of the Republic considered on Thursday that the debate on the legitimacy of the elected president “should not affect the functioning of the institutions” and praised the maturity of Angolans and politicians who said no to violence and conflict.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who arrived in Luanda on Wednesday to participate in the inauguration of Angolan President João Lourenço on Thursday, was speaking to journalists upon his arrival at his hotel after a tour of the Angolan capital.
Minutes earlier, the leader of UNITA, Adalberto a Costa Júnior, who challenges the official electoral results won by the MPLA (party in power since 1975), announced that the 90 deputies of the “Galo Negro” party would take office on Friday. Fair, but he would not go to the investiture of João Lourenço, whom he considers a president without legitimacy.
For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, “it is important, after a very disputed election, that the elected president takes office with a considerable number of heads of state”, but also that all the political parties that were elected to Parliament have the right to the leading role that allows give a voice to those they represent.
“This gives a lot of strength to the political system that is made of pluralism,” he stressed, considering that it is the parliament that echoes that pluralism and that it manifested itself, despite the “very intense” electoral period, in a climate of common sense. , tranquility and wisdom. .
“There are still differences, but there is a vision of the future and the future continues to be built tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, with the inauguration of the president and the elected assembly,” Marcelo said.
As for the fact that the opposition parties do not recognize the electoral results and that the leader of the largest opposition party (UNITA) does not take office, he believes that the important thing is that there be maturity, “regardless of the debate on legitimacy.” “, and that this does not affect the functioning of the institutions.
“We had a debate about legitimacy in Portugal in 2015/2016 when I took office, there was a discussion about the legitimacy of the forces that were going to exercise the government, some said that it should be one, others that it should be another, according to different interpretations. of the elections”, he recalled in reference to the “gadget” formed after the 2015 legislative elections.
“The important thing is that the President of the Republic assumes his functions and the executive functions and Parliament has all the elected deputies to assume their functions,” he reinforced, adding: “And that things go well for Angola, because things go well for Angola. Portugal is doing well.
Regarding the impediment of demonstrations and arrests of activists, which have occurred in recent days, he defended that there is also maturity in the way in which those who are going to occupy parliament “regardless of the opinion they have on the electoral act, have perceived and have given as a line of orientation or not to violence, not to confrontation and conflict”.
The President of the Republic praised the “great care in relation to what would be the demonstration within the framework of the inauguration”, considering that it was “prelude to a society that has pluralism and diversity”.
And “having a power that was considered the winner, according to the official results” reflects in Parliament and in society in general “diverse ways of thinking.”
“The future is built on this dialectic, on this ability to build alternatives in a society that wants to be plural and open,” stressed the head of state.
Without wanting to comment on the arrests, cases “that belong to the internal life of the country”, Marcelo Rebolo de Sousa indicated that “history is full of examples of how it is very important, even when there are forces that have the majority of the exercise of power politically, there are other forces that, being a minority and perhaps thinking that they should have greater representation and another space for intervention, know that history has no end”.
“Angola has a story ahead that goes far beyond tomorrow and the day after,” he added, insisting on the certainty that “there is a great maturity of the Angolan people” that was seen before, during and in the post. -electoral period and that will continue to be seen in the coming years.
Source: TSF
