Elections 2022: Older citizens eager to vote

 Luanda – At least 559,625 voters aged between 60 and 65 years old, of whom 1,225 are registered abroad, are among the Angolan citizens eligible to cast their ballot on Wednesday, 24 August.

Used to participating in this democratic party, citizens in this age group are looking forward to the moment of exercising their duty of citizenship, with appeals to the contending political parties for serenity and a spirit of peace.

Among those registered is Baltazar Pedro, 64 years old, who is already on his fifth participation.

In an interview with ANGOP, the elderly man said that the fact that the country registered a positive economic development, unlike in 1992, when the first elections were held, is a good variable for this election to run smoothly.

According to the source, in 2008, in the context of peace, the elections were still held with some fear and rancor, stating that in 2012 Angolans began to look more seriously at the electoral process, until the last election in 2017.

Manuel Quindae, 53, a university professor, hopes for highest voter turnout,  stressing that the 1992 elections served as a lesson for the following ones, given the country's lack of experience at the time.

Manuel Quindae, who worked in the 1992 election as a brigade member, recalls being stranded in the municipality of Ambaca, northern Cuanza Norte province, due to the outbreak of the armed conflict.

The university professor underlines that one cannot go wrong again as in the first suffrage, emphasising that the 2008 elections served as an experience, and in 2012 Angola taught the world a good lesson, although it lacked civic education as such.

Already in 2017, he commented, the elections were “examination”, as the ruling party managed to present another candidate.

He advised greater serenity and above all citizenship for a plea for peace.

In turn, Filipe Miguel Canda, 62, said he hoped that the one who best managed to convince the electorate during the election campaign would win.

He says he is happy to participate, once again, in this civic process, and therefore asks Angolans not to stop participating in the polls.

This year's elections, which will have the participation of Angolans abroad for the first time, are the fifth in Angola's history, after those in 1992, 2008, 2012 and 2017.

According to the data, the least representative group will be those between 60 and 65 years of age, with a figure of 559,625 voters, of whom 1,225 are registered abroad.

Data from the computer File of Senior Citizens (FICM) show that 3. 056 million young people, from 18 to 25 years of age, are part of the most representative group of voters for the election of 24 August of this year, of a total of 14. 3 million voters.

Of the number of voters in this age group under 25, some 3,618 were registered abroad.

The data also indicate that the next group with the highest number of voting citizens is between 25 and 30 years old, with 2. 121 million, of whom 2, 664 registered abroad.

Angolan voters are evenly distributed in terms of gender, with women having a slight advantage (51% against 49% of men).

Overseas voting will take place in 12 countries and 26 cities, such as South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg), Namibia (Windhoek, Oshakati and Rundu) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Matadi).

Also on the African continent, Angolans residing in Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville, Dolisie and Pointe Noire) and Zambia (Lusaka, Mongu, Kolwezi) will be able to vote.

Outside Africa, voting will be open in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Paulo), in Germany (Berlin), in Belgium (Brussels), in France (Paris), in the United Kingdom (London), in Portugal (Lisbon), Porto) and the Netherlands (Rotterdam).

                                                 

This year's general elections will elect the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic and the MPs to the National Assembly.