Ncumbi Maziya, a senior
member of Swaziland’s elections commission, says ‘prominent people’ are rigging
the kingdom’s election and he wants them arrested.
Swaziland (recently
renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III) has completed
the first round of elections and campaigning is in progress ahead of the final
vote on 21 September 2018.
Maziya told a meeting for
election candidates in Nhlangano, ‘How I wish to have some of the prominent
figures who have joined the race to Parliament be exposed of corruption so that
others can also learn a lesson,’ the Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (4
September 2018).
Maziya a commissioner with
the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), the body running the election,
said, ‘It’s one of my wishes that we have some of these prominent figures
arrested for what they do when it is time for elections. They are known and
they think their wealth is the only passport to Parliament. Let at least one of
the so-called heavyweights be exposed as they are corrupt.
‘It’s time as a country we
put such people in their right place. We can’t allow them to do as they please
because they have money and they even bribe their way to be lawmakers.’
Maziya did not name the
people he accused. He said the EBC was trying to ensure these people would not
influence the outcome of the election.
Last week Maziya said
corrupt members of the House of Assembly sold
their votes when they elected the kingdom’s senators. He told a
workshop that they charged E60,000 (US$4,000) for their vote. In Swaziland no member of
the 30-member Senate is elected by the people. King Mswati appoints 20 and
members of the House of Assembly elect the other 10.
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.
People are only allowed to elect 59 members of the
House of Assembly, another 10 are appointed by the King.
See also
Swaziland
Election Officer Reveals MPs Sell Their Votes When Electing Kingdom’s Senators
Vote-Rigging
Claims During Swaziland’s Election Grow. Calls For Some Polls To Be Re-Run
Polling
Station Riot and Fresh Accusations of Vote-Rigging Reported at Swaziland
Election
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
No comments:
Post a Comment