Another of the official observer groups to last month’s elections in Swaziland has criticised the lack of democracy in the kingdom.
Political parties remain banned in Swaziland since 1973 and the parliament that is elected has few powers. King Mswati III makes all the important decisions and none of the members of the Swazi senate are elected by the people.
The Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) in a media release issued on Wednesday (29 October 2008) said there were weaknesses in Swaziland’s constitutional, legal and electoral framework. The CET said these weaknesses ‘required reforms through a process of consultation and dialogue’.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said, ‘What is vital now is for the Government and all political and civil society organizations in Swaziland to work together to chart a mutually agreed path for the future development of the country, with a view to ensuring its sustainable growth and stability, in line with Commonwealth fundamental values.’
The CET is not the only official election observer group to call for greater democracy in Swaziland. The Pan-African Parliament mission had previously reported, ‘The non-participation of political parties makes these elections extraordinary from any others but we hope with time things will change.’
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers recommended improvements to the electoral system in the future.
The latest report from the CET shows that despite Swaziland’s new constitution that came into effect in 2006 not much has changed in Swaziland. After the previous election in 2003 CET reported, ‘... we do not regard the credibility of these National elections as an issue: no elections can be credible when they are for a Parliament which does not have power and when political parties are banned’.
All observer groups have urged Swaziland to rethink its political process, which is ‘diplomat speak’ for ‘become a democracy’. They were saying such things after the 2003 election and they are saying them again now.
The fact that nothing has changed tells us all we need to know about the commitment of Swaziland’s ruling elite to democracy. The elite despise its own Swazi people and ignore the views of the international community.
With the illegal appointment earlier this month of new Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini it is clear that the king and his supporters have no respect for the Swazi constitution. We now are told by the king that Dlamini must get the ‘terrorists’ and all who support them (for that read ‘democrats’).
Now the elections are over and the eyes of the international community are elsewhere, we can expect more repression in Swaziland in the coming months.
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