Opposition to next year’s national election in Swaziland
is growing.
Elections are held every five years and the next is due
in 2013. But prodemocracy activists in Swaziland have been calling for a
boycott. All political parties are banned and many opposition voices are
silenced in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last
absolute monarch.
The latest call came from participants at a ‘People’s
Parliament’ organised by the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic
Organisations held in Manzini at the weekend.
About 2,000 people from across Swaziland agreed to
campaign for an election boycott. They also want the system of government to
change. At present the Swaziland Parliament has few powers. Of the 65 members
of the House of Assembly, 10 are chosen by the King and 55 are elected by the
people. In the senate, King Mswati chooses 20 of the 30 places. The other 10
are chosen by members of the House of Assembly. None are elected by the people.
The Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) that monitored the
last Swazi election in 2008 was
so unhappy with the system that it advised Swaziland to look again at its
constitution, to ensure that there was full consultation with the people, civic
society and political organisations.
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP)
also denounced the poll because political parties were not
allowed to take part.
The European
Union refused
to send a team to monitor the elections because it could not see the point
since it said the elections were obviously not free.
After the poll, Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries
Commission reported
allegations of widespread bribery, ‘treating’, threats of violence and
cases of candidates unlawfully holding voter cards.
See also
SWAZI UNION TO BOYCOTT ELECTIONS
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