Lisa Peterson, United States
Ambassador to Swaziland / eSwatini, has renewed her call for the Royal Decree that
keeps King Mswati III in power as an absolute monarch to be scrapped.
She said that failure to
unequivocally revoke the 1973 proclamation created uncertainty and hindered
development in the kingdom.
She was speaking at an event
to mark the US Independence Day which falls on 4 July. She also renewed her
call for political parties to be allowed to operate and contest elections.
On 12 April 1973 King Sobhuza II proclaimed a
Royal Decree after he objected to his subjects electing members of a
political party that was not under his control. He tore up the kingdom’s
constitution that had been in place since Swaziland gained independence from
Britain in 1968. Even though Swaziland adopted a new constitution
in 2006, the kingdom, now ruled by King Mswati, remains an absolute
monarchy.
In
his decree King Sobhuza announced, ‘I have assumed supreme power in the
Kingdom of Swaziland and that all Legislative, Executive and Judicial
power is vested in myself.’
Swaziland holds national
elections but the people are only allowed to choose 59 members
of the House of Assembly, 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.
The King appoints the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, as well as senior
judges and civil servants.
Immediately following the most recent election in
2018, the King appointed
eight members of his Royal Family to the kingdom’s Senate and six to the
House of Assembly. Later, in April 2019, he
appointed 28 members of his family to various committees and boards in the
kingdom, including 10 princes and princesses to the 23-member Liqoqo, a supreme
traditional advisory body which is also known as the Swazi National Council Standing Committee. This
group rules on matters relating to Swazi traditional law and customs.
King Mswati also appointed
seven members of his family to the 17-member Ludzidzini Council, a group of
senior traditionalists centred around the King’s Ludzidzini Palace. The
Ludzidzini governor is also known as the traditional prime minister and has
more status in the kingdom than Ambrose Dlamini the man King Mswati appointed
Prime Minister to lead the cabinet the King also hand-picked.
Ambassador Peterson has
called for the Royal Decree to be scrapped before. Last year she wrote an article that
was published in both of Swaziland two national newspapers saying, ‘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?’
She wrote in favour of political parties, ‘[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.’
Peterson 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
Anniversary
of day Swaziland stopped being a democracy and became absolute monarchy
approaches
U.S. Ambassador supports parties
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/us-ambassador-supports-parties.html
Swazis want democracy - survey
Swazis want democracy - survey
EU tells King: ‘free parties’
UK calls for parties to be un-banned
Royal
Decree should stay: Swazi A-G
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