The head of Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission
has said members of political parties are welcome to contest the 2018 national
election, but poliical parties remain banned.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported he ‘emphasised that political parties
will not be allowed to contest as organisations, but their members are free to
contest as individuals in their respective constituencies’.
Swaziland’s previous election in 2013 was considered ‘not free and fair’
by a number of international organisations, including the Commonwealth Observer Mission which called for a review of the kingdom’s
constitution. It said members of parliament ‘continue to have severely limited
powers’ and political parties are banned.
The Swazi people have no
say in who their leaders are. They are only allowed to select 55 of the 65
members of the House of Assembly, the other 10 are appointed by the King. None
of the 30 members of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people; the King
appoints 20 members and the other 10 are appointed by the House of Assembly.
The King, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, choses the Prime
Minister and cabinet members. Only a man with the surname Dlamini
can, by tradition, be appointed as Prime Minister. The
King is a Dlamini. Chief Gija, is a half-brother of the King.
In
an interview with the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by
King Mswati, Chief Gija said, ‘It must be clear that for now, no organisation is allowed to contest
for the elections, but their members are free to do so.’
Political
parties are banned under the Swaziland Constitution from contesting elections
and groups that advocate for democratic reforms in the kingdom are banned under
the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
See also
KING’S BOGUS CLAIM ON DEMOCRACY
PUDEMO WILL NOT FIGHT SWAZI ELECTION
THE
CASE FOR POLITICAL PARTIES
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-case-for-political-parties.html
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