King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland
(eSwatini), told his parliament to ignore calls for democratic change and
instead embrace the culture that allows him and his family to rule unhindered.
The parliament has no powers and acts mainly as a rubber-stamp
for the King. Political parties are barred from taking part in elections and
the King appoints the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers. He also selects top
judges and civil servants.
He appoints 10 of the 69 members of the House of
Assembly. None of the 30 members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people.
Groups that advocate for democracy are banned under
the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
The King told Parliament, ‘Democracy is tailored
towards the cultural norms and beliefs of each nation. we call upon all
Emaswati [Swazi people] including those living abroad, to remain true to their
identity.
‘They should place the interest of our nation above
their own. we should cherish our unity and family relationship that has existed
since our predecessors founded this great nation so many years ago.’
He added, ‘God gave each nation its unique culture to
practice and pass on to future generations. there is no culture or ideology
that is supreme which has to be imposed on other nations of the world.’
In September 2013 King Mswati announced
that Swaziland would be ruled by what he called ‘Monarchical
Democracy.’ He said
this meant he would take advice from his subjects before making decisions that
affected the kingdom.
The King has been under increasing criticism from
democratic nations to allow his subjects the opportunity to have political
parties and elect their own government.
Following
the 2018 national election the United
Nations Human Rights Committee stated the ‘legitimacy and credibility’
of the election was ‘significantly hampered’ because political parties were
banned. The King had ‘excessive powers’
in the appointment of the Government, Parliament and the judiciary, it stated.
It added, ‘The legitimacy and credibility of the elections was
significantly hampered by the design of the electoral mechanisms as a
culture of political pluralism is lacking. There is no freedom of
genuine and pluralistic political debate, political parties are unable to
register, contest elections, field candidates or otherwise participate in the
formation of a Government.’
Following the election King Mswati appointed six
members of his Royal Family to the House of Assembly and eight
members to the Senate.
About seven in ten of the 1.3 million
population of Swaziland live in abject poverty.
The King has been criticised
internationally for his lavish lifestyle. He has two private
airplanes, at least 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range cars. At his 50th
birthday in 2018 he wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds that weighed 6 kg. Days earlier he
had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost
US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades
was estimated to have cost US$30 million.
In November 2019 King Mswati bought a fleet of
Rolls-Royce cars for himself and his family. Reports on the
number purchased have ranged from 13 to 15 and they were reported to have
cost up to US$4 million.
In the same month Swaziland also bought him 126 BMW cars and motorbikes
to escort the Royal family around the kingdom.
By Richard Rooney
See also
U.S.
Ambassador to Swaziland renews criticism of King’s lavish spending while people
live in poverty
The truth
of ‘monarchical democracy’
New name
for non-democracy
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