None of the three official observer groups reporting
so far on the Swaziland election have concluded it was ‘free and fair’.
People went to the polls on Friday (21 September 2018)
in the kingdom recently
renamed Eswatini by the absolute monarch King Mswati. Political
parties are
banned from taking part in the election and the people are only
allowed to elect 59 members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a
further 10. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the
people.
The King chooses the Prime Minister and government
ministers as well as top public servants and judges.
In its election report the African Union (AU) called
on Swaziland to end the ban on political parties.
AU mission head James Michel, the former Seychelles president,
said, ‘The mission encourages the eSwatini authorities to consider
reviewing the 1973 decree on the ban on political parties and allow them to
freely participate in the election.’
In a
statement ahead of the visit
the AU said, ‘The overall objective of AU election observation missions is to
promote democracy, strengthen democratic institutions and build public
confidence in electoral processes in Africa.’
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Election Observation
Mission in its report said the election had been successful, ‘in line with the
Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, and the guiding Legal Framework’. Unlike
the AU, it did not consider whether Swaziland was a democracy.
At the launch of its report on Sunday one of the SADC
observer team, Harris Putani, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Malawi
Electoral Commission, said SADC was not present in Swaziland to change the
kingdom’s governance but only to observe elections.
The Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Monday, ‘He
said their guidelines expected them to confine to each country’s national laws.
Putani said each country has its own mandate that national observers are bound
to align with.’
The Eswatini Elections Support Network which operates under the auspices
of the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) made no comment about
the election being ‘free and fair’. It had felt obliged to issue a
clarification after its report
on the first round of the election in August which had stated
elections, ‘were undertaken in an atmosphere that is free and fair’.
It later issued a statement
that said its report, ‘was not giving an overall assessment of the elections.
What was essentially being stated was that on the day of elections most of the
election processes allowed the voters to cast their votes in an environment
that was not intimidating as well as facilitated the secrecy of the vote.’
All three of the observer groups reporting on the
final round of the election (the secondary election) said it had been
‘peaceful’. But, CANGO
said in its report, the election was ‘relatively peaceful’.
However, it added, ‘The environment outside the
polling station was peaceful except for Ndzingeni during counting and Hillside
polling stations where violence was experienced throughout the day and hence,
OSSU [the Operational Support Service Unit or ‘riot police’] was
called in to retain order.
‘In Hillside, police kept vigilance throughout the day
to maintain peace and order.
‘In Ndzingeni polling stations, voters were dispersed
using teargas during counting as voters threatened to enter the polling station
where counting was taking place.’
There were numerous credible reports of violence
published in Swaziland newspapers in the two days following the election.
There had also in the days ahead of the election been violent
attacks by the police on public sector workers who were engaged in
peaceful and legal protest in support of pay increases and other matters.
The reports of violence in the newspapers included police firing
gunshots in the air and
grenades and rubber bullets as voters at Sigwe protested against completed ballot papers
being taken away from a polling centre.
Police from the OSSU fired bullets into the air and teargas at a large
crowd at Mayiwane. Men described as ‘mostly half-naked and heavily intoxicated’
blocked traffic at Mayiwane for three hours by burning car tyres in the middle
of the road, the Sunday Observer
reported. A building was also vandalised.
APA news agency reported outbursts
of violence started as early
as noontime on election day and
intensified in the evening when the counting of votes was about to
resume.
At Manzini North, Manzini South, and Ekupheleni polling
centres the police had to request for backup from the OSSU after vehicles from
the Elections an Boundaries Commission (EBC) were forced to turn back to
polling stations for safety after roads leading to counting centres were
blocked with stones and tree trunks by protesting crowds.
At Malindza in the Lubombo
region, an intoxicated member of the army drove over a male voter and further
crashed onto two cars that were parked within the polling station premises, APA
reported
Police were called to Manzini South after a row broke
out over alleged corruption and buying of votes.
See also
Swaziland
Police Fire Gunshots, Set Off Grenades and Rubber Bullets as Voters Protest
During Election
Violence, corruption, vote-buying reported in
Swaziland election. Journalists barred from entering counting centres
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/violence-corruption-vote-buying.html
Swaziland (Eswatini) Election 2018: Links to Information and Analysis From Swazi Media Commentary
Swaziland (Eswatini) Election 2018: Links to Information and Analysis From Swazi Media Commentary
Organised
Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic
https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic
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