/ 20 October 2003

Swaziland to release results of parliamentary vote

Swaziland was poised on Monday to release the results of parliamentary elections held at the weekend, which pro-democracy groups had urged voters in the tiny southern African country, the continent’s last absolute monarchy, to boycott.

”All the results are in and voting is officially over for now,” said election information officer John Mkhonta.

But, he said: ”We can’t release the final figures until voting has taken place in three outstanding constituencies, where court cases arose due to disputes between candidates.”

Officials started counting votes on Sunday for 55 elected representatives to the House of Assembly, none of whom will be drawn from political parties, which are banned in the kingdom.

Ten more lawmakers will be appointed by King Mswati III, who rules the tiny country by decree and where parliament serves mainly as an advisory body to the king, Africa’s last absolute monarch.

In one constituency, Obed Dlamini, a former prime minister who had been sacked by the king and who later revived a former Swaziland opposition party, despite the long-running ban on political activity, had been voted back into parliament on an individual ticket.

Pro-democracy groups and the country’s powerful labour federation, the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), which claims a membership of 83 000 out of a workforce of 110 000, had called for the vote to be boycotted, saying it would do little to further democracy in the country. On Sunday, they said they believed their call for a boycott had been successful.

Jan Sithole, SFTU secretary-general, said: ”The system of these elections will not usher in any meaningful change that the Swazi people need.”

”The number of people who attended yesterday’s (Saturday’s) elections clearly shows that many of our people stayed away from the polls.”

Government officials did not indicate on Monday how many of Swaziland’s 228 950 registered voters had voted, saying the turnout figure would have to wait until all votes were in.

They said they were satisfied with the turnout in rural areas but admitted that many voters stayed away in the cities, and admitted that the boycott call could have influenced the numbers who came out to vote.

Swaziland’s upper house, the Senate, will consist of 30 seats, of which 10 are chosen by the House of Assembly and 20 others — at least eight of them women — will be appointed by the king. – AFP