ELECTIONS BOARD ‘ILLEGAL’

Media Release

Swazi Civic Society Seeks Elections Commission Declared Unconstitutional.

The High Court of Swaziland will today (11 November 2008) hear one of the most important cases to come before it under the new constitution. The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations has challenged the appointments of all five of the Elections and Boundaries Commission as being unconstitutional.

Musa Hlophe, the Coalition’s Co-ordinator said ‘the Constitution asks for an independent commission lead by people who are either capable of being high court judges or have relevant experience and demonstrable competence. This commission is staffed by people whose suitability for their posts is measured by loyalty to the ruling class not their independence from it.’ He goes on to say that at the heart of this year’s crises in Zimbabwe and Kenya were discredited Elections Commissions that were appointed through cronyism and were therefore unable to stand up to political pressures.

To Hlophe the facts of the case are clear. ‘The Commission’s Chair – Chief Gija Dlamini is a fine, upstanding Swazi who has shown nothing but loyalty to the King and the Traditional Authorities. This is exactly why he is perfectly unsuited to be the chair of an independent body. His professional career is that of an electrical engineer in the Swaziland Water Services Commission and there is nothing in his past that that shows the necessary experience and competence to run the extremely difficult and technically complex area of elections administration.’ He goes on to say that the rest of the Commission are no different in that their independence is compromised in terms of their previous positions, their connections and relationships to the powerful. They are also disqualified by their lack of experience and relevant competence. Nowhere in the histories of any of the Commissioners can we see any attributes that meet the clearly put demands of the constitution.

This case has significant repercussions for the status of the Constitution in Swaziland. The government’s defence is that it was a decision by His Majesty, King Mswati III and so is beyond the competence of the courts to question it. This year His Majesty did not meet his obligations under the constitution to make at least 40% of his appointments to parliament women. The government continually ignores the Bill of Rights by harassing and arresting union members and protesters and on occasions beating and killing them. The Coalition believes that the assertions of the Attorney General last year and Chairman of the one of the powerful traditional bodies Prince Mangaliso this year that traditionalists need not worry because the constitution has changed nothing may in fact be the case. This places Swaziland right back to 1973 when King Sobuza II suspended the post colonial constitution and assumed all political power to himself. In fact this interpretation of the constitution places the people of Swaziland back to a pre Magna Carta Britain.

Hlophe concludes ‘If that is the case then the constitution is window dressing set up to fool the international community. We urge the judges to strike a blow for judicial and formal independence and recognisable constitutionalism in Swaziland’.

Contact details.
Musa Hlophe - +268 6048988 sccco@swazi.net