This is the picture that demonstrates the true power of King
Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland.
It shows the President of the Swazi Senate Gelane Zwane on
her knees before the King. According to the caption of the picture which first
appeared in the Times of Swaziland
newspaper, King Mswati ‘gives instructions’ to her ahead of the opening of
Parliament in 2013.
In Swaziland political parties are banned from taking part
in elections. Elections which take place every five years (the last was in
2013) are only for 55 of the 65-member House of Assembly. The other ten members
are appointed by King Mswati III. No members of the 30-strong Swaziland Senate
are elected; 20 are appointed by the King and 10 are selected by the House of
Assembly.
The people
do not elect a government. The Prime
Minister and Cabinet ministers are appointed by the King. Only a man with the
surname Dlamini can, by tradition, be appointed as Prime Minister. The king
is a Dlamini.
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