Nominations have been received for the primary elections
in Swaziland, but candidates are banned by law from campaigning for votes.
This is the bizarre situation in the kingdom, which King
Mswati III, who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, says has a
‘unique democracy’.
The nominations took place at Imiphakatsi (chiefdoms) where candidates were chosen to compete against
one another in ‘primary’ elections to take place on 24 August 2013. The winners
become their chiefdom’s candidate in the ‘secondary’ elections on 20 September,
where they compete against each other at the Inkhundla (constituency) level to be elected to the
House of Assembly.
Political parties are banned from taking part in the election:
they are also in effect banned completely in Swaziland and no discussion on political
policy is encouraged. All groups critical of the present political system in
Swaziland have been branded ‘terrorists’ under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
According to the Swazi Constitution campaigning can only
begin once the primary elections are over.
This means that Swazi people are being asked to elect
people at the primary without knowing what they stand for and what they will do
if eventually elected to parliament.
This makes the primary no better than a beauty
competition, where the best you can hope to do is to elect the person you most
like the look of.
What reasoning there is behind the law to deny people the
right to hear their candidates speak and question them on why they should be
elected is lost in history. One theory is that the candidates are members of
the local community and people would already know who they are and what they
think.
If this theory is true it puts the electorate on the
level of schoolchildren electing their class captain.
A more sinister view is that by not allowing discussion,
the chiefs, who are the local representatives of the king, are able to
influence their subjects to vote for the chief’s choice. Chiefs have many powers
over their subjects and those who disobey might find themselves banished from
their homes or denied international food aid when it is distributed.
Campaigning begins once the primary elections are over,
but because political parties are banned it is impossible for voters to elect a
government. Instead, they choose people on ‘individual merit’. And, it is this
that King Mswati and those who benefit from his feudal regime say makes
Swaziland’s democracy ‘unique’.
Members of parliament have no power as this rests with
King Mswati, so candidates cannot in all honesty promise their electorates that
they will achieve anything for them if elected. However, that does not stop
them trying and in the run up to polling day, we should expect to hear
candidates claiming they will bring ‘development’ to their areas. This usually
refers to basic amenities such as piped water and electricity.
If the last election in 2008 is any guide, candidates
will also use food, beer, blankets and cash to bribe people for their vote.
Once the secondary election is over King Mswati will
appoint his government without reference to the people’s will and he will
determine its policies. In 2008 he appointed Barnabas Dlamini Prime Minister,
even though he was never elected by the Swazi people.
The secondary elections are for 55 members of the 65-seat
House of Assembly. The other 10 members are appointed by the king. No members
of the 30-strong Swaziland Senate are elected by the people: the king appoints
20 members and the other 10 are elected by members of the House of Assembly.
See also
ELECTION NOMINATIONS CREDIBILITY DAMAGED
SWAZI ELECTION ‘WILL BE A FRAUD’
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