Swaziland Police Block Protest March Against Election Vote-Rigging

Police in Swaziland blocked people from marching in protest about vote-rigging at the recent election.

They said they did not have permission to march.

It happened near the Madlenya Royal Kraal in Siphofaneni on Thursday (6 September 2018). They had planned to march and deliver a petition to Siphofaneni Police Station.

They wanted to complain both to the Elections and Boundaries Commission that runs the election and also to the police. They said people were transported from outside the area to vote at the first round of the election (known as the Primary Election) on 24 August 2018.

Police said they needed permission to march on a public road from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Swazi Observer reported.

There have been many allegations across Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini by the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III) of vote rigging and other malpractice.

It is common for protest marches to be banned in Swaziland which is recognised across the world as a kingdom with severe human rights issues.

People go to the polls for the final round of elections (the Secondary Election) on 21 September 2018.  People only elect 59 of the members of the House of Assembly; the King appoints a further ten. None of the 30-member Senate are elected by the people. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.

See also

Organised Certainty, Why elections in Swaziland are not democratic

https://www.scribd.com/document/384752084/Organised-Certainty-Why-Elections-in-Swaziland-Are-Not-Democratic

Vote-Rigging Claims During Swaziland’s Election Grow. Calls For Some Polls To Be Re-Run

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/vote-rigging-claims-during-swazilands.html

Swaziland’s Independent Observation Group Says Election ‘Free And Fair’ But Identifies Many Shortcomings

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/swazilands-independent-observation.html

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

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/fears-grow-of-vote-rigging-and.html

Independent Election Observers in Swaziland Barred From Some Polling Stations, Told to Sign Secrecy Forms

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/independent-election-observers-in.html

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

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/chaos-and-violence-reported-across.html

ACTIVIST ARRESTS AFTER ALLEGED ARSON

Four supporters of the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) have been arrested and charged following an alleged arson attack on rondavels in a-Ngcamphalala Chiefdom in Siphofaneni under the leadership of Chief Mshikashika II. 

The Party said in a statement they were arrested during a continuing campaign against the ‘feudal’ rule of King Mswati III, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The CPS said, ‘CPS activists are playing a prominent role in mobilizing communities to stop feudal leaders from barring boys from schooling and attending university because of their non-attendance at the King’s annual ritualistic events.

‘Such protests have cantered in amongst other many communities, on Siphofaneni, Ka-Ngcamphalala Chiefdom as well as on Siyandle, in Shiselweni Region. Community members held a meeting at Siphofaneni to tell the chief that the abuse of people in the name of culture must end.’

It added, ‘The Communist Party of Swaziland is calling for robust solidarity with the local communities under feudal rule in our country who have been protesting efforts to punish young boys for not taking part in King Mswati’s “traditional” ceremonies.’

The statement added, ‘The CPS is confronting the Mswati regime on its manipulation of traditional cultural practices for dubious purposes, mainly to intimidate Swazis into reverence for the monarchy.’

The CPS said it had been leafleting rural areas, ‘to mobilise opposition to royal rule and its obsequious implementation by local chiefs. This is being done in a tense situation of surveillance and intimidation by undercover police and military intelligence.’

The four men arrested will appear at Siteki Magistrate court on charges of arson.