Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, João Lourenço stressed that "the only sustainable and legitimate way to conquer power in Africa is through free, fair and transparent elections", which allow "the celebration of the feast of democracy". "Leaders emerging from elections can count on a broad and consistent popular base, which allows them to govern with legitimacy in a climate of greater serenity and stability", reinforced the Angolan Head of State in the stadium where Azali Assoumani was sworn in for his fourth term, the third consecutive one, for which he was re-elected in the elections held in January. João Lourenço said that the region of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) continues "to be a good example in terms of holding regular, free and transparent elections, whose results do not generally generate violent contestation" that threatens the order and stability of the countries. The Angolan President recalled that general elections are being held this year in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa, where he said he hopes, "once again, that the results will be respected by all the competing parties". He also expressed concern about the situation of instability and war in some of the SADC member states, namely in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to which he declared support and solidarity. The DRC recently suffered an attempted coup d'état, while Mozambique has been facing an insurgency in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, for some years now. Lourenço also expressed apprehension about the armed conflict in Sudan, which has caused a large number of victims and generated a high number of refugees, "destabilising neighbouring countries", and appealed that this war should not be forgotten. "We understand that international humanitarian agencies prioritise assisting other ongoing conflicts, namely in Palestine, to address above all the situation of serious humanitarian catastrophe in which the civilian populations of the Gaza Strip find themselves, but the Sudanese people deserve equal attention and the war in Sudan cannot be a forgotten war and simply ignored by the international community", appealed the Angolan Head of State. João Lourenço praised Azali Assoumani for his role as President of the African Union in 2023, for his realistic and pragmatic approach "to the main problems that Africa faces". "This is a legacy that makes us proud and that will serve as a guide and orientation for us to define the strategies that will allow us to accelerate the processes of promoting dialogue aimed at ending the conflicts on our continent and, thus, opening the way to the economic and social development of our countries", he declared. Also Read: Angola, South Africa and Kenya dismayed at Raisi's death (Portuguese version)