Angola. Civic associations call for judicial inquiry into the electoral registry

Oorganizations of civil society of Angola today handed over to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic (PGR) a request to open an inquiry into the electoral register, which also aims at government protection.

The application is signed by non-governmental organisations HANDEKA, UYELE and MOSAICO, in addition to the opening of a judicial inquiry, also requires auditing and clearance of responsibilities regarding the work of the Ministry of Territory Administration (MAT), directed by Daniel Félix Neto.

The organisations justify the initiative after alleged diligence, since June, with the tutelage, to clarify the ongoing process in the country of unofficial electoral register for the general elections of next year.

The signatories claim that, after more than four months, the ministry did not provide any clarification and that “this institutional silence raises serious concerns about the fulfilment of the legal duty to respond, the transparency of the electoral administration and the right of citizens to monitor the acts of the Public Administration”.

With these arguments, civil society organisations require the RMP to open an inquiry to investigate “the alleged lack of elimination, the database of larger citizens, the records of deceased citizens, with a view to the clearance of legally enforceable responsibilities”.

They also request an independent audit of the Major Citizens' Database and its Major Citizens' Informatics File to assess its integrity, reliability and legal compliance.

The organisations also call for a financial audit of the accounts and expenditure related to the life-test operation promoted by the MAT and for the Minister of Territory Administration to be asked to respond in good time to the requests made by civil society organisations.

“ The transparency of the electoral register is not a concession of political power, but a demand of the Democratic State and Law”, they argue.

The organisations reaffirm “their commitment to the legality, transparency and defence of the political rights of Angolan citizens, not giving up recourse to legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure the credibility of the electoral process”.