The current domestic policies of JOÃO LOURENÇO (JL) are in their most controversial aspects considered "the consequence" of beliefs at all levels of the regime, according to which the MPLA's chances of winning the 2022 elections are slim if they are organized and take place according to transparency rules.
The political culture prevalent in the MPLA is considered relatively "permissive" to the use of electoral fraud as a means of conserving power. MPLA leaders override the principle of democratic alternation of power in light of beliefs such as that their party has historical rights to govern the country or that it is invested in the goal of watching over its future.
The experiences that "brother parties" like PAIGC, PAICV, MLSTP and FRELIMO have passed, are also taken into account in the zeal of conservation of power noted in the MPLA. In Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and S. Tomé and Príncipe, where elections are generally free, there has been an alternation of power; in Mozambique, where fraud is practiced, FRELIMO remains in power.
SINSE and GAPI are also identified as "participants" in the definition and execution of control/ monitoring actions against outbreaks of opposition to the regime in society. GAPI, which works directly with the Security Cabinet of of PR, is run by NORBERTO GARCIA, a loyalist of the previous PR, recovered by JL.
The postponement of the municipal elections planned for 2020 was determined by fears considered to be well founded that the MPLA would suffer a defeat that could reflect negatively in the general elections of 2022. The decision, supposedly already taken, to combine the municipal elections with the next general elections, increases the likelihood of fraud occurring in all acts. READ MORE