King Mswati III on Tuesday postponed the opening of Parliament in this tiny Southern African nation without explanation. No new date was announced.
Mswati, Africa’s last absolute monarch, had been expected to preside over the opening session on Friday and address the nation on government plans for the year ahead.
”I have been mandated by authorities to inform members of Parliament and the nation that the state opening has been postponed indefinitely,” Parliament clerk Promise Msibi said at a news briefing.
A new date would be announced in due course, he said, declining to answer further questions.
The announcement follows attempts by royal insiders to have parliamentary Speaker Marwick Khumalo removed from office on the grounds that he was improperly elected on November 3 because he stood unopposed.
The House of Assembly held a special session on Friday to debate the matter, coming out overwhelmingly in support of Khumalo’s appointment.
Mswati faces mounting pressure to bring reform to his tiny, landlocked kingdom.
Swaziland won independence in 1968 from Britain, which left it with a democratic Constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy and a bill of rights.
But in 1973, a year after the pro-royalist ruling party won elections, Mswati’s father, King Sobuza II, repealed most of the Constitution. Mswati rules by decree. — Sapa-AP