Lisa Peterson, the United States Ambassador to
Swaziland (Eswatini), has renewed her call for political parties to be allowed
to operate in kingdom.
She also called for the 1973
Decree that turned Swaziland from a parliamentary democracy into an
absolute monarchy to be repealed. It banned political parties and put all powers
in the hands of the King.
Peterson said this in an
article she wrote that appeared in both of Swaziland’s national daily
newspapers.
Peterson was reacting to the recent decision by the
King to make appointments to the House off Assembly and the Swazi Senate,
following September’s national elections. People can only choose 59 members of
the House, the King appoints another 10. No members of the Swazi Senate are
elected by the people, the King appoints 20 and the House elects 10.
Peterson said that the King failed to follow the 2005 Swaziland Constitution
when he made the appointments. She said he did not appoint the required number
of women.
She also wrote, ‘Former Minister of Justice Edgar
Hillary went to Geneva in 2017 and told the United Nations Human Rights
Commission that the 1973 Decree had been repealed by the Constitution. If this
can be said to the outside world, why can it not be explicitly stated to the
Swati nation? And if the Decree has truly been repealed, why do officials act
as if it is still in place?
‘The Constitution’s language on ‘individual merit as
a basis for election or appointment to public office’ does not actually exclude
the possibility of political parties.’
She said if political parties were allowed to exist
they would help women to organise.
She wrote, ‘[P]arties are critical to
enabling individuals to join forces around common issues and pool their
resources – intellectual, financial and organizational – to advance policies
and candidates they believe will best serve their communities. In this moment
of severe financial adversity, emaSwati need such collective community advocacy
more than ever. It is time to start a dialogue on this issue and plot a way
forward.’
This was not the first time the US Ambassador had called for political
parties to be allowed in Swaziland.
In February 2018 she told
a meeting of editors that polling suggested people in Swaziland did
not support political parties. She said, ‘For me that speaks to people not
seeing what a political party can do for them. You need to build understanding
and policy of advocacy at the grass root level so that you can get a number of
people thinking in a similar manner.’
She said political entities that supported parties in Swaziland needed
to work on the ground to change people’s minds about the value of political
parties. ‘Each party or grouping needs to go about it in the way that works
best,’ she said.
She added, ‘That plays a part in getting every average Swazi to
understand why a political parties might be useful.’
Again in March 2018 she told a meeting
on multiparty democracy, good governance and human rights at the Happy
Valley Hotel, Ezulwini, many people in Swaziland did not support political
parties, ‘in part because they lack experience with what parties can accomplish
and how advocacy can succeed.’
She added, ‘In addition to
the various efforts the parties have underway, they need to be paying
particular attention to this part of the equation. Because if a person living
in a small village does not understand how a party can help him approach local
leaders on an issue such as youth unemployment, the answer to that poll
question is going to continue to go against the multiparty option.
‘You also should not fall
into the trap of thinking that simply explaining to people why parties are
important, or holding a march to rally public opinion, will move the needle
more in your direction.
‘People need to experience policy advocacy in order to appreciate the advantages of a coalition. Otherwise, they will carry on doing things the way they always have, perhaps believing that no action can really make a difference.
‘People need to experience policy advocacy in order to appreciate the advantages of a coalition. Otherwise, they will carry on doing things the way they always have, perhaps believing that no action can really make a difference.
‘People have a tendency to
want to stay with something they know, even if it’s not working well, because
they fear that a change will bring something worse. This is as true in the United States as it is
here. But if you show them how advocacy
is done, if you highlight for them their civic potential, you will have made an
incredible investment in the country’s future.
And through this investment, attitudes toward the multiparty question
are sure to improve.’
She is not alone in
advocating for political parties in Swaziland. In 2013 the EU which is a major donor of aid to Swaziland
told King Mswati he must allow political parties to operate in his kingdom as
it was important that international principles of democracy were upheld in
Swaziland.
See also
U.S. Ambassador supports parties
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/us-ambassador-supports-parties.html
Parties still banned from election
Parties still banned from election
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/parties-still-banned-from-election.html
One in three want political parties
One in three want political parties
Swazis want democracy - survey
EU tells King: ‘free parties’
UK calls for parties to be un-banned
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/uk-calls-for-parties-to-be-un-banned.html
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