Swaziland / Eswatini has
banned all public events including weddings and funerals that fall on the day
of the kingdom’s primary election.
It is the first time this
has happened in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III who is one of the world’s
last absolute monarchs.
The announcement was made
on Monday (6 August 2018) by Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Chair
Chief Gija Dlamini.
The Swazi Observer,
a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported him saying, ‘All Eswatini
events that are slated for the eve and the 25th of August 2018, the day of the
national primary elections, must be cancelled. This date was announced by His
Majesty the King as primary elections day and Emaswati should respect that.’
He added that every eligible
and registered person should vote at the election.
Elections in Swaziland are widely recognised by international
observers as a sham. Political parties are banned from taking part
and King Mswati chooses the Prime Minister and the government. No members of
the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people. Only 59 House of Assembly
members are elected and the King chooses a further 10.
Dlamini, who is also one of
the King’s brothers, said that all events that coincided with the primary
election, including weddings and funerals, were banned. The Observer reported, ‘He said events such
as weddings and funerals should either be shifted to earlier dates or postponed
to later dates other than the 25th.’
He said, ‘Funerals can be
shifted to Sunday, unless the family is certain that by 5am of Saturday [25
August] the burial would be over for the mourners to be able to have at least
an hour to spare and prepare for the elections that will start at 7 am.’
The Observer listed events affected including weddings, lobola, stovel
meetings, schools meeting, soccer matches, fundraising walks, funerals, and birthday
parties.
In Swaziland nominations
for member of the House of Assembly (parliament), constituency executive
committees (Bucopho) and constituency headmen have
already taken place. At the primary election people at chiefdom level elect
the member of the Bucopho for that particular chiefdom. Aspiring Members of Parliament and the constituency
headman are also elected from each chiefdom.
At the end of the primary elections, there should be one candidate for
the position of the Member of Parliament and one for the position of the constituency
headman who then contest elections at secondary level on 21 September.
See also
New
Study Shows Why Swaziland Elections Are Not Democratic
Swaziland
Police Force Worshippers From Churches to Attend Election Nominations
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