A senior election official
in Swaziland said corrupt members of the House of Assembly were selling their
votes when they elect the kingdom’s senators.
In Swaziland no member of
the 30-member Senate is elected by the people. King Mswati, the kingdom’s
absolute monarch, appoints 20 and members of the House of Assembly elect the
other ten.
Ncumbi Maziya, a Commissioner
at the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), told a workshop that members
of parliament charged E60,000 (US$4,000) for their vote,
the Swazi Observer newspaper reported
on Friday (31 August 2018).
It reported, ‘He said
parliamentarians are the most corrupt people. He said he has since gathered
that parliamentarians are swindling money from people who want to make it into
Senate.
‘Maziya said he learnt that
people are made to fork out money amounting to E60,000 if they want to get a
vote to be elected into Senate. “If you have no money you won’t make it into
Senate,” Maziya stated.’
He was addressing a
workshop for candidates for the national election due in Swaziland (recently
renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III) on 21 September 2018.
He also said there was a
lot of corruption and bribery during the first round of the election (known as
the primary election) that took place on 24 August.
The newspaper reported, ‘He
said he learnt that there were people who were ferried in buses from the
textile sector to vote in some areas around Manzini.
‘The commissioner said in
some places he visited, people were bribed with beers in order to vote for
people they didn’t even know.’
The Times
of Swaziland reported Maziya
said irregularities had been reported to the EBC from Manzini South, Kwaluseni,
Ngculwini, kuhambanjani bafana constituencies. He said the EBC knew of cases of
people being ferried in in buses or kombis. He said outgoing government
ministers had illegally used government vehicles during the election.
The Times reported Maziya said
there were also problems with people being drunk at polling stations. He said
that at two places, Enjabulweni and Ngevini, he personally found voters
intoxicated and some passed out on the voting booths.
The Times reported Maziya
saying, ‘It is unfortunate that as much as we are aware that some aspiring MPs
and candidates buy votes from textile workers and other people, the EBC does
not have the rightful resources to tackle some of the acts of corruption.’
See also
Polling
Station Riot and Fresh Accusations of Vote-Rigging Reported at Swaziland
Election
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/polling-station-riot-and-fresh.html
Fears Grow of Vote-Rigging and Malpractice in Swaziland Election. Ballot Boxes Not Properly Sealed
Fears Grow of Vote-Rigging and Malpractice in Swaziland Election. Ballot Boxes Not Properly Sealed
Independent
Election Observers in Swaziland Barred From Some Polling Stations, Told to Sign
Secrecy Forms
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
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
Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic
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