With the elections in Swaziland over, things returned to
normal in the kingdom in October. King Mswati III appointed 12 of his family to
sit in the House of assembly and the Senate. His chosen candidate was elected unopposed
as Speaker of the House and he appointed Barnabas Dlamini as Prime Minister for
the fourth time, despite Dlamini’s record of incompetence, untrustworthiness
and vanity.
Two reports from international observers of September’s
election were published this month. Both the African Union and Commonwealth
election mission teams recognised that the election was far from fair.
Political parties are banned from taking part and there were severe issues
around freedoms of association and speech. Both organisations called for
Swaziland’s 2005 election to be reviewed.
There is little chance that King Mswati, who rules Swaziland
as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, will take any notice. The
Commonwealth team admitted it had voiced similar concerns in the past two
elections in Swaziland in 2008 and 2003 with no effect.
Elsewhere, King Mswati surprised few when he told a group of
Christians that men had lived on the Moon for several months in the past. He
said he wanted Swazis to do the same thing. His adoring audience cried ‘Hail to
the King!’ in vernacular.
These reports and others are contained in Swaziland:
Striving for Freedom, the latest monthly digest from Swazi Media Commentary. It
is available free of charge on scribd
dot com.
Swazi Media Commentary is published online – updated most days –
bringing information, comment and analysis in support of democracy in the
kingdom.
Swazi Media Commentary has no physical base and is completely
independent of any political faction and receives no income from any individual
or organisation. People who contribute ideas or write for it do so as
volunteers and receive no payment.
Swaziland Striving for Freedom Vol 10 October 2013.pdf by Swazi Media
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