Election2022: Court authorises publication of definitive results in official gazzete

 Luanda - The Constitutional Court (TC) on Thursday authorised the National Electoral Commission (CNE) to publish in the State Gazette the definitive results of the general elections of 24 August, 2022, once the electoral litigation phase is over.

The authorisation was given by the Presiding Judge of the TC, Laurinda Cardoso, during the reading of the final statement on the election litigation process triggered by UNITA and CASA-CE.

The magistrate instructed as well that the President of the Republic, the Vice-President and the Members of the Parliament should be sworn into their respective positions.

She added that after the analysys of the evidences, the Constitutional Court decided to dismiss the appeals of UNITA and CASA-CE, thus validating the definitive results of the 24 August 2022 general elections published by the CNE.

Due to the seeking of the “material truth”, the TC said it had carried out through its Data Processing Centre a "detailed and careful verification" of the evidences presented by the applicants and the CNE.

Regarding the UNITA's appeal, the TC explained that UNITA had submitted photocopies and prints of the minutes of the electoral operations of the provincial constituencies of Luanda, Zaire, Cuando Cubango, Cabinda, Huambo, Bengo, Benguela, Huila and Cuanza Sul, for recount.

Although it is not within the competence of the TC of counting the votes, the electoral truth principle led the judicial body to assess the documents submitted, states the document.

According to the Court, of the provinces which UNITA claimed more votes, the political party led by Adalberto Costa Júnior did not present any documentation for Namibe, Cunene and Lunda-Sul.

The Court reveals that it etected 1,532 non-legible photocopies and prints of minutes, 307 polling stations with non-legible numbers, 612 without visible signatures and 954 duplicate photocopies and printouts of minutes.

As a result, the Constitutional Court concluded that the evidence presented and found to be in line did not put into question the overall results of the national tabulation of votes as presented by the CNE.

UNITA wanted a correction of the number of MPs it had been allocated in Luanda, Zaire, Cuando Cubando and Namibe provinces.

CASA-CE, which did not get any MPs comparing to 16 MPs that it had from the previous legislature, demanded correction of the number of MPs for the provinces of Huambo, Benguela and  Cuanza-Norte, where it claimed to have received fewer votes than were due.

The election results, which are now validated by the court, shows the victory of the MPLA and its presidential candidate with 51,17% of the votes.

UNITA and its leader Adalberto Costa Júnior follows with 43,95%. CASA-CE led by Manuel Fernandes in the six position obtained 0,76%.

In third position, Benedito Daniel of PRS won 71,351 votes (1,14%) two deputies, taking back the third position as the third political force, thus “dislodging”  the CASA-CE coalition.

Next came the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) led by Nimi a Nsimbi, and the newcomer Humanist Party of Angola (PHA), led by Florbela Catarina Malaquias, with two seats each.

Meanwhile, this was the fifth general election in Angola history, since 1992.

King to be known as Charles III – as William and Kate become Duke and Duchess of Cornwall

 Charles could have gone with a different name, but it's been confirmed he will be King Charles III.

It’s been confirmed that the King will be known as Charles III.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II after her incredible 70-year reign, her son Charles will be crowned King Charles III.

William and Kate’s Twitter account @KensingtonRoyal now refers to the couple as The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

But could the new King have chosen a different name? If we look to the British monarchy’s long history the answer is yes, if he wanted to.

The history of the names of British kings and queens is a tale of Williams, Georges, Henrys and Edwards, with a couple of Elizabeths and Marys as well.

Queen Victoria was originally christened Alexandrina Victoria, but chose a different regnal name.

The practice was continued by her son, born Prince Albert Edward, who took up the mantle of King Edward VII upon his accession to the throne in 1901.

In more recent times, Prince Albert, Duke of York took on the name King George VI in 1936 following the abdication crisis.

Royal historian professor Kate Williams believed that the King would go with Charles III.

She said: “My feeling was if he was not going to stick to it, we would have been told this already because if he suddenly says, for example, he’s King William, I think people will find it quite confusing.

“Charles I was bad and had his head chopped off but everyone loves Charles II, everyone thinks he is great fun because he brings back theatres and Christmas, so I don’t think Charles has this terrible name association because yes Charles I is very bad but Charles II is often seen as one of Britain’s most popular monarchs, he’s seen as the fun king.

The Prince of Wales’ full name – Charles Philip Arthur George – did present some alternatives if he had wished to be known by a different regnal name, however.

Clashes with parliament, civil wars and a beheading: the life of King Charles I

Born in 1600, Charles I became King upon the death of his father King James I of England (James VI of Scotland).

His heavy spending on art, clashes with leading citizens about religion and failed wars in Europe led to disagreements with parliament.

Tensions eventually boiled over into the English Civil War, which saw him imprisoned and put on trial for high treason and sentenced to death.

Following his death parliament ruled for 11 years – known as the Interregnum – before Charles’ son, Charles II was proclaimed king in 1660.

The return of the king and Christmas: who was King Charles II?

The eldest surviving son of Charles I, Charles had been eight years old when English Civil War broke out.

During the Interregnum, when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector, festival days including Christmas were not allowed to be celebrated and instead were to be spent in respectful contemplation.

But following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II repealed the Puritan ban on celebrating Christmas – to great popular joy.

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Sweden to participate in Angola's economy diversification

 Luanda - The Kingdom of Sweden has expressed its willingness to contribute to the process of diversifying the Angolan economy, in the sectors of renewable energy, agriculture and environmental protection, revealed this Thursday, in Luanda, the ambassador Ewa Polano.

The Swedish ambassador to Angola, who was speaking at the end of an audience with the MPLA's secretary for International Affairs, Manuel Augusto, added that the cooperation extends to the sectors of infrastructure, transport, telecommunications, training of staff, among others. .

 

Ewa Polano considered the relations between her country and Angola to be old and deep, dating back to the 1970s, when the then Swedish prime minister, Olof Palme, received the nationalist António Agostinho Neto, as president of the MPLA. 

 

On the occasion, a humanitarian support agreement was signed, which opened the door to cooperation in diferent areas.

 

The diplomat said to the press that the Kingdom of Sweden is closely following the current electoral process in Angola, whose final results, released by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), give the MPLA victory with 51.17% of the votes, electing 124 deputies to the National Assembly. 

 

She added that she is looking forward to the Constitutional Court's pronouncement on the final results of the election, held last August 24th.

 

The diplomat referred to the centenary of the birth of President António Agostinho Neto, to be celebrated on the 17th of this month, having considered him a statesman with great Africanist sense and a man of culture. 

 

The meeting with Manuel Augusto served to address, among other matters, cooperation between Sweden and Angola.

Order Of Succession: Prince William Is Heir To The Throne

 Prince William is now heir to the throne of the United Kingdom after Prince Charles’s accession following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The 40-year-old Duke of Cambridge is expected to become the new Prince of Wales, with his wife Kate Middleton taking on the new title of the Princess of Wales.

William is the oldest royals among the top eight in line, and is followed by his three children Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four.

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Elections2022: Constitutional Court validates results

 Luanda - The Constitutional Court (TC) on Thursday validated the results of the last general elections in Angola, with victory of the MPLA and its presidential candidate, Joao Lourenço, with 51.17% of the votes.

The confirmation of the victory of the ruling party is followed by the rejection by the court of the appeal filed by UNITA to demand the change, in its favour, of the definitive results of the 24th August general elections.

In its decision on the matter, the TC said it rejected UNITA's appeal due to the non-existence of a prior complaint to the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and due to the insufficiency or ineffectiveness of the evidence presented.

The Constitutional Court found that the evidence presented "did not put in question the overall results of the national tabulation of votes announced by the National Electoral Commission".

This is the second and last appeal rejected by the Constitutional Court regarding the general elections, after CASA-CE's appeal.

The decision ends the phase of complaints against the definitive electoral results announced by the CNE and opens the way for the inauguration of João Lourenço as President of the Republic and of Esperança Maria Francisco da Costa as Vice-President of the Republic.

The 220 elected deputies to the National Assembly are also due to be sworn in, 124 from the MPLA, 90 from UNITA, plus two deputies each for PRS, FNLA and PHA.

In the CNE's ranking, UNITA and its leader Adalberto Costa Júnior came second with 43.95% of the votes, and CASA-CE of Manuel Fernandes was sixth with 0.76 percent.

Both political parties contested the results and requested the TC to intervene, in its comptences of an electoral court , to restore the electoral truth expressed in the ballot boxes.

UNITA wanted a correction of the number of MPs it had been allocated in Luanda, Zaire, Cuando Cubando and Namibe provinces.

CASA-CE, which did not get any MPs comparing to 16 MP´s that it had from the previous legislature, demanded correction of the number of MPs for the provinces of Huambo, Benguela and  Cuanza-Norte, where it claimed to have received fewer votes than were due.

With an abstention rate of 55.18% and the highest in the country's history, out of the roughly 14 million registered voters, the 24th August elections had the participation of 6.454,000 voters (44.82 percent).

CNE data show that the MPLA obtained about 3.209,000 votes corresponding to 124 parliamentary seats against 2.786,000 votes of UNITA for 90 seats.

In third position, Benedito Daniel of PRS won 71,351 votes  (1,14%) two deputies, taking back the third position as the third political force, thus “dislodging”  the CASA-CE coalition.

Next came the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) led by Nimi a Nsimbi, and the newcomer Humanist Party of Angola (PHA), led by Florbela Catarina Malaquias, with two seats each.

The National Patriotic Alliance (APN) of Quintino Moreira and the Nationalist Party for Justice in Angola (P-NJANGO) of Eduardo "Dinho" Chingunji did not win a single parliamentary seat. For this fact, these two political forces are exposed to extinction by the Constitutional Court for having fallen below the 0.5 percent  threshold imposed by law for the survival of political parties.

Elections2022: Inauguration of President João Lourenço to take place on 15 September

 Luanda - The inauguration of the re-elected President of Angola, João Lourenço, and the Vice President, Esperança Costa, is scheduled for next Thursday (15), in the Republic Square, in Luanda.

The information was published Thursday (8) on the Presidency's Facebook page.

The Constitutional Court (TC) today dismissed the appeal filed by UNITA, stressing that the evidences presented "do not call into question the overall results" of the elections announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).

According to the Presiding Judge of the Constitutional Court (TC), Laurinda Cardoso, the phase of the electoral litigation is concluded and due to that the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, the Vice President, Esperança Costa, and the elected members of the parliament should be invested in their functions.

Last week, the CNE published the minutes of the national tabulation of the final results of the general elections of 24 August, which declared the MPLA and its leader, João Lourenço, as the winner with 51.17% of the votes, followed by UNITA with 43.95%.

With these results, the MPLA elected 124 MPs and UNITA obtained  90. FNLA, PRS and PHA elected two each.

CASA-CE, APN and P-Njango did not elect MPs to the 220-seat parliament.

Angola approves National Strategy on Climate Change

 Luanda – The National Strategy on Climate Change (ENAC 2022-2035) submitted to the Executive by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment (MCTA), to strengthen the response to the threats of climate change, has received final approval by Presidential Decree.

According to the document, ENAC arises from the need to articulate objectives, instruments and institutions in the pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development, against the backdrop of the provisions of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the need to articulate Angolan policy in terms of mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

 

The approved instrument will lead to the development of the National Emissions Plan (PNE) and the National Adaptation Plan for  Climate Change (NAPAs).

 

Based on the ENAC, the country will update the Internally Determined National Contribution (INDCs), which will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as present its commitment manifesto on climate change, identifying targets and measures, both for mitigation and adaptation, for different sectors. 

 

This legal instrument is structured taking into account five pillars such as mitigation, adaptation, capacity building, financing and research, systematic observation and analysis, thus aiming to promote the transition to a low carbon economy, adapting the national territory to the impacts of climate change.

 

In this context, the government recognizes that it is essential to strengthen the technical skills of different players and priority technologies for an effective implementation of the ENAC 2022-2035, with the need to leverage the opportunity of climate financing, promoting international cooperation in this domain. 

 

This diploma succeeds the National Policy for the Implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, due to the growth of the economy in the last decade and the change in the international and national climate scenario.

 

Main climate policy instruments in Angola 

Angola has ratified the UNFCCC, acceded and ratified the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 2000 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2007. 

 

In 2009, it established the Designated National Authority (DNA) for the mechanisms of the Kyoto protocol and started the development of the National Adaptation Action Programme (NAPAs). In 2012, it submitted its first national communication (Angolas's initial National Communication to the Unite Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).