APA-Mbabane (Eswatini) King Mswati III has dissolved Eswatini’s parliament ahead of legislative polls scheduled for September which critics have branded a sham.
In address to the nation late Tuesday, King Mswati said the dissolution was in line with the country’s electoral laws which required that parliament be dissolved to all Swatis to elect new leadership.
“It is time to dissolve parliament to allow the nation to elect new MPs who prioritize the country’s development,” the king said.
Around 600,000 of the tiny mountain kingdom’s 1.1 million people are expected to vote in the polls on September 29.
Eswatini’s system of government is based on its own Tinkhundla system of democracy. Inkhundla or Tinkhundla is a Swati name for a constituency.
The House of Assembly consists of 59 elected seats and up to 10 chosen by the king.
The 59 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected in a two-round system, with primary elections held in each of the 385 chiefdoms to choose a candidate for the secondary election.
In the secondary election, the 385 chiefdoms are divided into 59 constituencies, with winners of the first round of voting contesting as independent candidates in the constituencies under which their chiefdoms fall.
Candidates with the majority votes become the winners and MPs.
King Mswati III nominates a further 10, bringing the total number of MPs to 69. He also appoints the prime minister.
The electoral system is one of the issues behind deadly protests in Africa’s last absolute monarch in June 2021 when pro-democracy activists took to the streets to demand political reforms.
Over 1,000 people were arrested and security forces were called in to stamp out dissent.
JN/APA