Luanda, ANGOLA, April 20 - Angola’s National Assembly has approved, in general, the Organic Law Proposal on the Local Elections, during the 6th Plenary Session held Thursday in Luanda.,

With 179 votes in favor, none against and six abstentions, the Draft Law is meant to  define the legal regime governing municipal elections.

The move stems from the fact that the Law 36/11 of December 21 - Organic Law on General Elections - is not applicable to local elections.

The 199-article document defines the structuring rules related to the election of the Executive and Deliberative bodies of local authorities, as well as guarantees respect for the principle of local autonomy and the democratic and law-abiding State.  

While presenting the document to the MPs, Angola’s minister of Territorial Administration and State Reform, Adão de Almeida, informed that a dozen other diplomas are in preparation and, in due course, will be submitted to the competent bodies.

He stressed that the Executive is open to dialogue for the search for consensus and to make a joint path at the level of the local government process.  

"We believe that consensus is possible, based on the Constitution and not ignoring our reality, clearly defining the way to go until the complete transition of a decentralised state," he said, stressing that the Executive has been carrying out a set of tasks aimed at achieving this national goal.

On the other hand, he assured that no municipality will be left behind or impaired, whether or not it benefit from the first phase, as defined by article 242 of the Constitution," he noted.

The minister also spoke of the local financial system and the launching of the municipal portal, as being carried out on an experimental basis in order to improve local revenue collection capacity and their allocation, according to the law.  

Adão de Almeida informed that, next week, the Executive will launch the National Staff Plan of municipalities, in order to prepare them for the reality of local government.

The MPs also approved and voted, in general, on four proposals related to the municipal legislative package, two of them on the initiative of UNITA (the main political opposition party in Angola), with stress to draft laws on the administrative protection of local and regional authorities and Public finances.  

The plenary session was suspended and set to resume next Monday, with debate on the proposals of Law on the Financial Regime of Local Authorities, Local Authority Charges, Administrative Tutelage on Local Authorities and on the Institutionalisation of Local Authorities, initiated by the Executive.

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