The new rule that people nominated for public office
must be paid up to date on their taxes has thrown the election in Swaziland /
Eswatini into confusion. Hundreds of people have reportedly withdrawn from the
election because they cannot afford to pay their taxes.
Thousands of people besieged Swaziland Revenue Authority
(SRA) offices across the kingdom trying to get tax clearance certificates. There
was confusion about how much time they had to obtain the documents with the
Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) issuing contradictory information
about extending the deadline.
There were not enough staff at SRA offices to deal
with the rush, local media reported.
Many of those nominated feared they would be
disqualified from the election if they did not have the certificate on time. In
July 2018 the EBC announced that prospective candidates for this year’s election
would be vetted after nominations had closed and if they owed taxes, they would
be disqualified.
Police
reportedly scuffled with candidates at Siteki when they
blocked the entrance to the SRA office.
According
to official EBC figures a total,
6,486 people were nominated to stand for office locally or for the national parliament
across 59 constituencies. All needed to obtain clearance certificates.
The Swazi
Observer reported that some nominees dropped out of the election because
they could not afford to pay the taxes they owed. It was reported (3 August
2018) that people were expected to pay off at least 25 percent of what they
owed. The Observer quoted EBC sources
at Northern Hhohho confirming ‘that hundreds of nominees’ had dropped out.
The Times
Sunday reported (5 August
2018) that Richard Phungwayo, EBC Head of Secretariat, said the figure of people
with tax issues could be more than 100.
It June 2018, EBC Chair Chief Gija Dlamini said all people nominated for
the elections would
also be vetted by the police. In an interview with the Observer he said the vetting would be at
police headquarters in Mbabane where the fingerprints of all candidates would
be checked.
‘All nominated candidates will be required to go to police headquarters
to be vetted and a record will then be forwarded to us,’ he told the newspaper.
Elections in Swaziland are widely
recognised outside of the kingdom as undemocratic. Political parties
are banned from taking part. Parliament has no powers as these are vested in
the King who rules as an absolute monarch. After the election, the King will
chose the Prime Minister, government ministers and the top civil servants and
judges. At past elections people only got to select 55 of
65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chose the other 10. At the
forthcoming election there will be an additional four seats for people to vote
for. It has not been announced how many members the King will choose but the
Swaziland Constitution allows him to pick up to ten.
No members of the 30-member
Senate are elected by the people.
See also
All Public Events Banned in Swaziland on Day of
Primary Election
New
Study Shows Why Swaziland Elections Are Not Democratic
Swaziland
Police Force Worshippers From Churches to Attend Election Nominations
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/07/swaziland-police-force-worshippers-from.html
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