Polling Station Riot and Fresh Accusations of Vote-Rigging Reported at Swaziland Election

More accusations of vote-rigging and illegal practice during the first round of Swaziland’s election are emerging with calls for some votes to be re-run.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has come under attack for ignoring complaints.

One newspaper in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute ruler King Mswati III) reported ‘riots’ at one polling station.

There are claims that at the Ezikhotheni chiefdom in the Shiselweni 1 constituency candidates brought strangers to vote. EBC polling officials were notified but did nothing about it, the Swazi Observer reported on Thursday (30 August 2018).

The outgoing member of parliament for the area Michael Sigodvo Nxumalo, who was standing for election again but lost, told the Observer unknown people in the community being were ‘smuggled’ into the polling centre.

‘EBC officials did not listen to our concerns. we did not want the counting of the votes to proceed without first knowing if all those that voted were from Ezikhotheni.’

The Observer added, ‘Nxumalo claimed that certain vehicles brought textile workers to vote when they were known to be from other areas.’

The Observer also reported (30 August 2018) that after ‘riots at the Mshingishingini polling station due to the lack of electricity, election nominees have called for fresh elections to be conducted’.

Candidates have protested that rules ‘stipulated by the EBC rule book state that a riot had the power to disturb an election, thus distort the eventual election results,’ it added.

The Observer said the riot lasted an hour and was caused ‘by people who wanted to vote illegally after voting had concluded’.

An unnamed source told the Observer, ‘The rioting individuals are the people who entered the polling station after 19.00 hours as they took advantage that there was no electricity at the voting centre. They broke down the polling station gate and forced themselves in and were added as though they had queued, The EBC officers could not stop the crowd.’

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the riots at the Mshingishingini polling station, the Observer added.

Candidates at Mvembili claimed the winner of the constituency executive (Bucopho) election was an imposter. They said Martin Magagula was not from the Northern Hhohho area but Dvokolwako, and therefore he stole the election victory. They want him stripped of his victory.

Meanwhile, Ayanda Shiba, aged 22, was fined E1,000 by the Siteki magistrate after he admitted trying to vote twice using two different voting cards at Good Shepherd polling station, at Makhewu in Siteki.

There have been a number of claims of vote-rigging and malpractice emerging in the days following the election.

Most presiding officers at polling stations did not know how to seal ballot boxes properly, the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) said in a report on the conduct of the election.

At Kwaluseni about 16 candidates and their agents walked out of the counting in protest at cheating and called for the election in the constituency to be cancelled.

EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya said many complaints had been received from across the kingdom, including Ezulwini, Lobamba Lomdzala, Kwaluseni and Mpolonjeni in the Lubombo region.

Swaziland’s elections are recognised outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political parties are banned from taking part and the King appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers.

See also

Fears Grow of Vote-Rigging and Malpractice in Swaziland Election. Ballot Boxes Not Properly Sealed

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/fears-grow-of-vote-rigging-and.html

Independent Election Observers in Swaziland Barred From Some Polling Stations, Told to Sign Secrecy Forms

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/independent-election-observers-in.html

First Round of Swaziland Election Marred by Inefficiency and Fear of Vote-Rigging

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/first-round-of-swaziland-election.html

Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/chaos-and-violence-reported-across.html

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

Police in Swaziland Attack Nurses With Taser During Peaceful Protest Over Pay

Police in Swaziland attacked nurses with tasers during a peaceful demonstration against pay in the kingdom’s capital. The attack was unprovoked, according to the Times of Swaziland newspaper.

It came days after police shot live ammunition into a crowd of schoolteachers who were also demonstrating about salaries.

It happened on Wednesday (29 August 2018) when hundreds of trade unionists led by the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) marched through Mbabane. They were going to the Ministries of Public Service and Health to deliver petitions.

The Times reported ‘tensions reached beyond boiling point’ when there was a dispute between police and union leaders about the route they were allowed to follow.

It said some nurses ‘claimed that police manhandled and used tasers on them during their march to the two ministries’. 

One nurse identified a police officer who she said had attacked her with a taser. The attack was reported to Mbabane Police Deputy Station Commander Amos Dlamini.

A taser is a weapon that gives someone an electric shock and makes them unable to move for a short time.

Public service workers are in dispute with the government of Swaziland, recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III. They have been offered zero percent increase in their annual cost of living allowances.

On Friday teachers were attacked by police who fired live ammunition at them. One man was wounded.

See also

Swaziland Teacher Who Stopped Police Chief Shooting Into Unarmed Crowd Appears in Court

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-teacher-who-stopped-police.html

 

Swaziland Police Shoot, Wound Teacher During Protest Over Pay, Tensions High on Eve of National Election

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-police-shoot-and-wound.html

Swaziland Teacher Who Stopped Police Chief Shooting Into Unarmed Crowd Appears in Court

Musa Maxwell Zondinkhundla Myeni, the schoolteacher in Swaziland who came to international attention after he wrestled a gun-wielding police chief to the ground to stop him firing at teachers during a protest over salaries, appeared in court on six charges.

One teacher was shot and wounded by police on Friday (24 August 2018) as members of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) tried to enter their union building in Manzini.

The Magistrates’ Court in Manzini, the main commercial city in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the Kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III), was packed with supporters on Tuesday (28 August 2018). In what might be a first they uploaded pictures and videos of their protest to the Internet from inside the court room. 

Myeni, aged 35, a teacher at Matsanjeni Primary School, faced six charges including public violence, common assault and blocking the road. He was remanded on bail of E7,000 (US$485) to reappear in Manzini Magistrates’ Court on 12 September 2018.

Photographs of Myeni disarming Station Commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko of Manzini police appeared in newspapers in Swaziland and on Internet and social media sites across the world. The Observer on Saturday and the Swazi News in Swaziland also published photographs of police officers pointing guns at teachers. 

Willie ‘Mawillies’ Dlamini, a teacher at Salesian High School was shot and wounded in the arm after police fired into the crowd. 

Njabulo Dlamini, a branch leader of SNAT, told the Peoples Dispatch, an online news site, ‘In most instances, the police first fire teargas to disperse protesters. But this time things were different. The police did not even give a warning. They started firing the live bullet at teachers.’

The Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland reported the next day, ‘Several gunshots were heard and bullets aimed directly at the teachers flew in all directions while stones directed at the police officers also flew the opposite direction.’

It said teachers ran for safety and some pelted the police officers with stones.

The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported that the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU), which it called ‘the police’s semi-military wing’, arrived to back up the police. 

Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned and people advocating for democracy are routinely arrested and charged under sedition and anti-terrorism laws. Police break up protest meetings using teargas, water cannon, rubber bullets and sometimes live ammunition.

Following the shooting the People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) the best known of the banned political parties, released a statement. ‘PUDEMO calls upon the immediate arrest of all the police officers who were involved in the discharging of live ammunitions against the teachers of Swaziland. We particularly call upon the immediate arrest and prosecution of one Mr. Sikheshekheshe Maseko, who is said to be Manzini Station Commander, who was at the forefront of this murderous attack on the unarmed members of SNAT.’

The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) called the arrest of Myeni, who is also a local official of SNAT, a political move. Myeni had been arrested at his home on Sunday by six heavily armed members of the Royal Lukhozi arm of the police. It said Lukhozi was ‘known for its torture of prisoners who often end up dead. Their greater focus is often on human rights activists, unionists, youth and student activists and members of political parties.’

 

Swazi News front page the day after the incident 

 

Protestors inside the magistrates’ court 

See also

Swazi Police Now ‘A Private Militia’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swazi-police-now-private-militia.html

Swaziland ‘Becoming Military State’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/swaziland-becoming-military-state.html

Fears Grow of Vote-Rigging and Malpractice in Swaziland Election. Ballot Boxes Not Properly Sealed

Fears of vote rigging during the first round of the Swaziland election are growing. The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) received complaints about malpractice from across the kingdom. 

Most presiding officers at polling stations did not know how to seal ballot boxes properly, a group of official election observers reported.

At Kwaluseni about 16 candidates and their agents walked out of the counting in protest at cheating and called for the election in the constituency to be cancelled.

The Swazi Observer reported (29 August 2018) there were complaints that ballot papers were tightly interlocked and could not be easily removed from ballot boxes. Candidates questioned how a thick package of papers could have been in the box when it was half empty.

The Observer reported, ‘The package was two ballot papers interlocked at right angles with several other papers neatly tucked in them.’

Counting was stopped for several hours with three boxes out of seven uncounted. It was later completed despite protests.

There were also allegations at Kwaluseni that during the voting polling station officers had told people who to vote for.

Voters in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) went to the polls in the first round of national and community elections on Saturday (25 August 2018). Political parties are banned from taking part and the King appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers.

Candidates and voters from the Buka Chiefdom and Lobamba Lomdzala marched on the offices of the EBC calling for the votes in their areas to be recounted.

At Buka they said the number of votes cast did not tally with the number of registered voters and some rejected ballot papers were counted, according to the Swazi Observer. They also said some ballot boxes were late arriving at the count after voting ended at Buka.

Voters from Lobamba Lomdzala told the newspaper they suspected ‘foul play’ at the election. The EBC asked them to detail complaints in writing.

EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya said many complaints had been received from across the kingdom. ‘We have received complaints from Ezulwini, Lobamba Lomdzala, Kwaluseni and some from Mpolonjeni in the Lubombo region,’ the Observer quoted Maziya saying.

The Observer added, ‘He said the commission would follow the proper channels in addressing the complaints by the electorate.

‘“I also advised them to go to the court if need be so that their concerns could be addressed expeditiously.”’

A report on the election process from the Eswatini Elections Support Network which is overseen by the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) which visited about 170 polling stations on the day said, ‘Most presiding officers struggled to seal ballot boxes and this is a serious concern that needs urgent attention. Poor seals allow for the ballot boxes to be manipulated and damage the credibility of the results. CANGO would like to encourage EBC to seriously invest in an urgent training for all presiding officers to be taught how to seal ballot boxes properly.’

Members of the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU), the paramilitary police wing, were called to Nkhaba Old Inkhundla polling station and Matsanjeni South ‘to calm the situation where voters blocked the exit of electoral officials who were transporting ballot papers to a central command place where counting could take place’, CANGO reported. 

See also

Independent Election Observers in Swaziland Barred From Some Polling Stations, Told to Sign Secrecy Forms

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/independent-election-observers-in.html

First Round of Swaziland Election Marred by Inefficiency and Fear of Vote-Rigging

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/first-round-of-swaziland-election.html

 

Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/chaos-and-violence-reported-across.html

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

Pornographic Photos and Sex Tourists: The Sleazy Side of Swaziland’s Reed Dance

Photographs of the women and girls who dance bare breasted and in short skirts and some with no underwear in front of Swaziland’s absolute monarch King Mswati III at the traditional Reed Dance are appearing on pornography websites across the world.
 

The half-naked dancers, some as young as 11, are also said to be attracting ‘sex tourists’ to the kingdom. Also, some of King Mswati’s American backers told him the sight of a middle-age man watching tens of thousands of semi-clothed women dance for him gave Swaziland a bad image as there was an obvious ‘sexual undertone’ to it.

The next annual Reed Dance (also known as Umhlanga) takes place in Swaziland (renamed Eswatini by King Mswati on his fiftieth birthday earlier this year) on Monday (3 September 2018). If past years are a guide possibly as many as 100,000 women, often described as ‘maidens’ or ‘virgins’ by media in Swaziland, will dance. The Reed Dance is considered a major traditional cultural event and takes place each year.

Ahead of this year’s event Nonduduzo ‘Zuzu’ Zubuko, the leader of the women who dance and who are called the Imbali Regiment, told participants, ‘Part of the things that our culture teaches us is to dress appropriately for the ceremony you are attending.’

The Swazi Observer (16 August 2018), a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported her saying, ‘You are also expected to attend in your numbers as our culture teaches us to always respect and attend to royal commands. This must start at chiefdom level. You are also expected to always attend community meetings called by your leaders and this spreads to the whole country where you should show respect to the highest authority of the kingdom.’

The newspaper added, ‘She implored Imbali to be proud of who they are and their culture. “You must wear that outfit with pride because you are indeed the pride of the nation.

‘“How would you claim to be Liswati [Swazi people] if you are even afraid to dress up in traditional regalia? How do you claim to be Liswati if you don’t even know which regiment you belong to as an individual?” she wondered.’

The traditional dress means going topless and wearing very short skirts. The women are encouraged by traditionalists not to wear underwear.

The dancers make easy pickings for people wanting to take photographs and use them for pornographic purpose. A simple search on Google highlights how many sites, some of them demanding payment to view, exist. 

There are also concerns that people who come into Swaziland to attend the event are ‘sex tourists’. As long ago as 2006 Independent-on-Line (IOL) newspapers in South Africa reported they came from all over the world.

IOL reported, ‘Some of them, mainly male European tourist armed with video cameras and modern digital cameras, are not afraid to admit that “it is the only place in the world where we can see bare-breasted women and buttocks”.’

It also interviewed tourists from South Africa, Chile and China.

It added, ‘Even though the tourists were told not to take photographs of the girls below the waist, it was evident that most of them - mainly men - were taking photographs as they wished.

‘It was also striking that when the very young maidens passed before the King and the photographers, no one showed much interest. But when the teenagers and the young women danced, photographers flocked towards the girls.’

IOL reported, ‘On the second day of the Reed Dance, in the morning, some tourists watched the girls and took photographs of them while they were bathing in the nearby river. Motorists, too, were spotted luring the girls by promising them food and money.’

It added, ‘A man from Chile who claimed to be a “freelancer”’, stood among the girls in the Lusushwana River, taking photographs.’

King Mswati himself has been criticised for continuing with the tradition of the half-naked dancing. The New Republic, an American news magazine, reported that conservative backers of the King in the United States disapproved of the Reed Dance.

In 2008 it told the story of the King’s visit to the US. Joe Szlavik, who was a public relations operative working on behalf of the King, took him to meet with Chris Smith, a socially conservative Republican representative from New Jersey and then chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.

The New Republic reported, ‘Szlavik, whose firm was pulling in $20,000 per month from its Swaziland account, had some difficult news to deliver about a certain Swazi custom. “You have this Reed Dance, with these virgins,” he explained to me [the author of the article] recently. Szlavik's message to his client was simple. “Listen to me,” he implored the King. “You got to stop this.”

The New Republic reported, ‘Smith “understood there was a traditional part to the dance but in light of the gravity of the HIV situation [thought] maybe they could put tradition aside,” Szlavik recalls.

‘Such arguments were lost on King Mswati. “Look Joe, I understand the whole thing with the West, but we look at breasts like you look at feet,” the monarch told him. It wasn’t an unreasonable point. In some rural African cultures, women refraining from wearing tops is about as common as US postal workers wearing shorts in the summer. But try explaining that to a conservative Republican congressman.

‘“I like breasts personally,” Szlavik, a fast-talking cheerful man of about 40, told the King. “But, you know, there's a sexual undertone to it clearly.”’

Not all the women and girls who dance half-naked for the King do so willingly. In 2016, the Guardian newspaper, a respected international publication based in the United Kingdom, reported that many participants were forced to attend the Umhlanga. It quoted a 29-year-old teacher saying, ‘They say we are not forced, but we are. Families who don’t send their daughters to the Umhlanga have to pay a fine, usually a goat or a cow.’

In 2014, it was reported by media within Swaziland that girls were told if they did not attend that year’s Reed Dance they would be publicly whipped. Girls in the Mbilaneni chiefdom were told that if they travelled to the event but do not attended the ceremony, they would be beaten on the buttocks when they returned to their homesteads.  

Thami Thikazi, the headman of the Mbilaneni chiefdom, said if parents disagreed with the punishment they would be forced to wield the lash themselves.

The Swazi Observer reported at the time Thikazi said, ‘In case parents distance themselves from such, we are going to order them to be the ones administering the punishment in the form of strokes on the buttocks should it be found that they (girls) did something intolerable. The punishment will take place in full view of everyone.’

See also

Swaziland’s Sinister Reed Dance

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/08/swazilands-sinister-reed-dance.html

 

Swazi Reed Dance is Royal Sex Show

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/08/swazi-reed-dance-is-royal-sex-show.html

 

Naked Hypocrisy at the ‘Times’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2007/09/naked-hypocrisy-at-times.html

Independent Election Observers in Swaziland Barred From Some Polling Stations, Told to Sign Secrecy Forms

Independent observers at Swaziland’s elections were refused access to some polling stations until they had signed secrecy forms restricting what they could report.

They were told to get the form endorsed by the police.

 

It happened during the first round of the election in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) on Saturday (25 August 2018). 

The Eswatini Elections Support Network which operates under the auspices of the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) reported on Monday (27 August 2018) that its designated observers were denied access at five polling stations.

In its official report of the election CANGO said it happened mainly in the Hhohho region.  It said observers were denied access and ‘were asked to take the secrecy form and have it endorsed by a commissioner of oaths in this case the Royal Eswatini Police Service’.

The report added, ‘The network is concerned about this matter as all electoral observers are expected to sign the visitors book not secrecy forms as the mission is an independent assessment of the national elections.’

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has yet to comment on the ban. A number of international organisations have been invited to send observers for the final round of elections due on 21 September 2018. The EBC reported that at the last election in 2013 more than 400 international and local observers were accredited. They included the Commonwealth, African Union, European Union, United States Embassy in Swaziland, German Consulate, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), SADC Elections Observer Mission (SEOM), SADC Parliamentary Forum, SADC Lawyers Association, SADC Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF), SADC Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and CANGO.

The Eswatini Elections Support Network is made up of representatives from ten NGOs in Swaziland. It deployed 120 observers across 170 polling stations in 44 constituencies in all four regions of the kingdom.

Elections in Swaziland are generally recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic. Political parties are banned from taking part and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister and Government. People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly, another 10 are appointed by the King. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.

The European Union Election Experts Mission (EEM), in its report on the 2013 election, made much of how the kingdom’s absolute monarchy undermined democracy.

In its report it stated, ‘The King has absolute power and is considered to be above the law, including the Constitution, enjoying the power to assent laws and immunity from criminal proceedings. A bill shall not become law unless the King has assented to it, meaning that the parliament is unable to pass any law which the King is in disagreement with. 

‘The King will refer back the provisions he is not in agreement with, which makes the parliament and its elected chamber, the House of Assembly, ineffective, unable to achieve the objective a parliament is created for: to be the legislative branch of the state and maintain the government under scrutiny.’

The EEM went on to say the ‘main principles for a democratic state are not in place’ in Swaziland.

The EEM was not alone in recognising Swaziland as undemocratic. In its report on conduct of the 2013 election, the African Union (AU) mission called for fundamental changes to ensure people had freedom of speech and of assembly. The AU said the Swaziland Constitution guaranteed ‘fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to freedom of association’, but in practice ‘rights with regard to political assembly and association are not fully enjoyed’. The AU said this was because political parties were not allowed to contest elections.

The AU urged Swaziland to review the constitution, especially in the areas of ‘freedoms of conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement as well as international principles for free and fair elections and participation in electoral process’.

In its report on the 2013 elections, Commonwealth observers recommended that measures be put in place to ensure separation of powers between the government, parliament and the courts so that Swaziland was in line with its international commitments.

They also called on the Swaziland Constitution to be ‘revisited’. The report stated, ‘This should ideally be carried out through a fully inclusive, consultative process with all Swazi political organisations and civil society (needed, with the help of constitutional experts), to harmonise those provisions which are in conflict. The aim is to ensure that Swaziland’s commitment to political pluralism is unequivocal.’

See also

First Round of Swaziland Election Marred by Inefficiency and Fear of Vote-Rigging

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/first-round-of-swaziland-election.html 

Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/chaos-and-violence-reported-across.html

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

First Round of Swaziland Election Marred by Inefficiency and Fear of Vote-Rigging

The first round of voting at Swaziland’s national election was marred by reports of inefficiency and fear of vote-rigging. Many polling stations opened or closed late and some people were unable to cast votes.

Swaziland, recently renamed Eswatini by its absolute monarch King Mswati III, is a small kingdom with a population of about 1.1 million. On Saturday (25 August 2018) they went to vote at more than 400 polling stations across 59 constituencies.

The kingdom’s two national newspaper groups the Times of Swaziland and the Swazi Observer reported extensively.

Voters at Lobamba Lomdzala feared vote rigging because ballot papers from the polling station at Bethany Primary School had to be taken to Mahlanya Primary for counting. The car ferrying the ballot box was not escorted by police.

The Swazi Observer reported on Monday (27 August 2018), ‘This resulted to the people complaining that it took almost an hour to ferry the results from Bethany to the destined area of counting.’

It added that both witnesses and members of the media were excluded from the polling station during counting. ‘Senior members from EBC (Elections and Boundaries Commission) had to be called as the witnesses wanted to regain entry and they eventually did after consultations were made, having spent half an hour outside.’

There was confusion at KaMethula, a newly created constituency, and many people were unclear where they had to vote. Some decided not to vote at all. Others ‘were forced to run from pillar to post trying to get to the correct right polling station’, the Swazi Observer reported.

Polls were expected to be open from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm. The Sunday Observer reported that ‘most polling stations’ failed to meet the 7.00 pm deadline to clear all voters.

‘As a result, some polling stations extended their deadlines so to accommodate all voters,’ it said.

It also reported, ‘painfully slow queues coupled with tedious voter information verification drills’.

At Nkwene and Ebenezer (Mtsambama), after 7.00 pm more than 100 voters were still queuing. Polling officers allowed them to vote. Some of those who came late to the voting station said they were from digging graves for funerals while some claimed to be from work.

Elsewhere voters complained that polling stations opened late in the morning and they had to queue for hours.

Inside polling stations there were delays caused by the manual system of voter verification. In many places senior citizens were allowed to go through to cast their vote earlier than the rest.

Voters could not cast their votes on time at Gilgal Inkhundla as two polling stations Phonjwane and Duze ran out of ballot papers around 9.00 am. Voters had to wait for over three hours for ballot papers to arrive while others decided to leave.

Voters at Ka-laMgabhi chiefdom, Hhukwini Constituency, were left frustrated due to the long queues at Lamgabhi Primary School polling station. Voting began half an hour late because ballots papers were not available on time. Hundreds of voters stood in the scorching sun waiting to cast their votes. 

Voting at Mayiwane was delayed as Pigg’s Peak police failed to designate police officers promptly to secure a polling station at Mkhuzweni. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the delay. Voting began at 10.00 am.

Two women reportedly collapsed before they could cast their vote at Mtfongwaneni. They were squeezed by the many voters who had come to cast votes as they scrambled to gain entry to the polling station. People had been waiting several hours to cast their vote.

Last week the Times of Swaziland reported that the EBC had engaged 6,760 people to work as polling officers earning a daily rate of E250. In Swaziland seven in ten people live on incomes less than E30 a day. 

Swaziland was going to the polls in the first round of national and community elections. The final vote takes place on 21 September 2018. Political parties are banned from taking part in the elections and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister and Government.

See also

Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/chaos-and-violence-reported-across.html

 

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

Teacher Who Tackled Gun-Wielding Swaziland Police Commander Arrested

Schoolteacher Maxwell Myeni who tackled a gun-wielding police commander and wrestled him to the ground during a peaceful demonstration in Swaziland in which police shot and wounded a demonstrator has been arrested.

A photograph of Myeni tackling Station Commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko of the Manzini police station appeared in the Observer on Saturday newspaper and on the Internet following the incident on Friday (24 August 2018).

Maseko had pointed his gun at Myeni moments earlier.

Willie Dlamini, a teacher from Salesian High School, was wounded in the arm when police opened fire with live ammunition during a protest about salaries. 

The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) in a statement published on social media hours after the arrest said Myeni was taken at about 5.00 pm on Sunday (26 August 2018) at his home in Lavumisa by the arm of the police force known as Lukhozi.

It said, ‘Six heavily armed members of this royal Lukhozi arm bulldozed their way with two white vans into his house at Lavumisa.’

It added the Lukhozi police was ‘known for its torture of prisoners who often end up dead. Their greater focus is often on human rights activists, unionists, youth and student activists and members of political parties.’

It added Myeni was taken to Sigodvweni Police Station in Matsapha, a ‘notorious torture centre’.

No charges have been announced.

Myeni tackled police commander Raphael ‘Sikheshekheshe’ Maseko who is seen still holding the gun he pointed at him. Picture: Swazi Observer

Chaos and Violence Reported Across Swaziland as Voters go to the Polls

Voters held police and polling officials hostage as violence broke out across Swaziland during the first round of the national election on Saturday (25 August 2018).

There were scenes of ‘total chaos’ in some polling stations, according to media reports coming from the tiny kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III. 

The Sunday Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported what it called a hostage situation happened at the polling station at Lobamba National High School. It said election official and police officers ‘were held hostage by angry voters who were outside the polling station’.

The newspaper reported the problem started when the lights suddenly went out during the counting of votes. Officials wanted to remove ballot boxes elsewhere. ‘However, the voters would hear none of that as they shouted at the top of their voices that such could not happen.’

The Observer added, ‘Police back-up had to be sought as some voters outside the polling station started kicking the door to the polling station and threatening to force it down.

‘The polling station became a danger zone as the angry voters kept trying to force the door open.’

‘It was the arrival of two police vans that helped calm down the situation, but the police themselves could not entirely help the situation as the voters insisted that the counting of the votes continue in the semi-dark polling station.’

Counting continued at  the school.

In a separate report the Observer said voters clashed at the Siphumelele polling station at the Logoba Chiefdom in the Kwaluseni constituency. It reported whips and knives were used. It said people had been drinking beer supplied by aspiring candidates.

It reported, ‘Spurts of violence were witnessed as over sensitive voters fought over one thing or the other.’

It added, ‘The youthful crowd was noted drinking from as early as the morning hours with the occasional crate of beers being replenished whenever the previous one was depleted. These were brought by the aspiring politicians or their agents.’

The Observer also reported ‘total chaos’ at Gobolondo Hall, Pigg’s Peak, when polling closed at 7.00 pm with about 50 people still trying to cast their vote. 

It reported, ‘Police officers had a torrid time trying to ward off angry voters who were forcefully pushing the gate to gain entry.’

It added, ‘A woman collapsed and was attended to by paramedics while voting  continued inside. It is not too clear what made her collapse.’

Swaziland was going to the polls in the first round of national and community elections. The final vote takes place on 21 September 2018. Political parties are banned from taking part in the elections and King Mswati appoints the Prime Minister and Government.

See also

Bribed Swaziland Voters Photograph Their Completed Ballot Papers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/bribed-swaziland-voters-photograph.html

 

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

Swaziland Police Shoot, Wound Teacher During Protest Over Pay, Tensions High on Eve of National Election

Police in Swaziland shot and wounded a schoolteacher when they opened fire with live ammunition during a protest about salaries.

It happened on Friday (24 August 2018) in Manzini, the kingdom’s main commercial city.

The teacher was named on social media as Willie Dlamini, a teacher from Salesian High School.

The Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland reported, ‘Several gunshots were heard and bullets aimed directly at the teachers flew in all directions while stones directed at the police officers also flew the opposite direction.’

It added at least three armed police officers clashed with teachers.

The Observer reported on Dlamini, ‘It was clear that a bullet had pierced through his arm and first aid was administered to him before an ambulance was called to rush him to the nearest hospital.’

Teachers were protesting against the Swazi Government’s decision not to pay them a cost of living adjustment on their salaries.

The shooting has raised tensions in Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III). It happened the day before the first round of the national election was due to take place. Political parties are banned from taking part and the King appoints the Prime Minister and Government.

The Communist Party of Swaziland which previously called for a boycott of the election in a statement on social media said, ‘The country is degenerating to unprecedented state of lawlessness. Political activists in peaceful protests and those involve in daily mobilisation for Democratic change are a target.’

In a separate statement it also said, ‘It has now been brought to the attention of the Communist Party of Swaziland that Mswati has issued an order that the police must shoot anyone they suspect of trying to sabotage his sham elections.’

 

Schoolteacher Willie Dlamini who was shot and wounded by police in Swaziland. Picture: Communist Party of Swaziland Facebook

See also

Police Shoot Dead Another Man 

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/07/swazi-police-shoot-dead-another-man.html