The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Organisations has issued a press release about the shortcomings of the election held in Swaziland last Saturday (23 August 2008) but it says that it has been completely ignored by the Swazi media.
I’ll leave it to you to work out why ....
Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations Press Statement
For Immediate Release 25 August 2008.
Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations is completely unsurprised at the latest election fiascos. Going by the reports in the press, there are many instances of poorly trained and ill prepared officers following badly thought out instructions, guided by incompetent rules and overseen by people who are obviously completely out of their depth.
The Coalition took its legal case on the unconstitutionality of the Elections and Boundaries Commission on three main fronts. That the EBC is not independent, that it is made up of public servants and that it does not have the relevant experience and demonstrable competence. Last weekend has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the experience and competence necessary to run an election is just not there.
These botch-ups are not accidents, they are completely foreseeable, and a direct result of the incompetent, politically compromised, EBC being pressured to act too soon by forces from outside. Why would any independent and competent authority allow the country less than a week for nominations and rush, completely unprepared into a primary election process?
We have seen them choose to ignore sections of the 1992 Elections Order and allow candidates to attempt to bribe voters with gifts. We have seen them act outside the Order to introduce the idea of a Voters Registration Card and to ignore many of the stipulations regarding identity and for new rules to be introduced. Worst of all we have seen a system of registration introduced that allows voters from outside an inkhundla to be registered there. This leads to widespread, legalised abuses, where a candidate can persuade, bribe or bully voters to register in the candidate’s inkhundla whether or not they actually live there. This leads to the nonsensical situation of the candidates choosing the voters, not the other way around.
In light of the poor quality of their preparatory work, their utter disregard for the rights in the Constitution and their obvious lack of both independence, and the appearance of independence, The coalition previously called on the Elections and Boundaries Commissioners to resign. It repeats that call now. Under this system and with these Commissioners, elections cannot be free, fair or credible. In God’s name GO.
The Coalition is not optimistic of the Commissioners showing even the least shred of decency and so we call upon the normal people of Swaziland to support our case. If you know of any examples of elections mis-management, behaviour or administration please contact our office. People of Swaziland, your votes are being stolen from under your nose. If you want them to count for something call 505 5911.
For more information please contact Musa Hlophe
+268 604 8988
+268 505 5911
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