Swaziland’s
Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is targeting to register fewer voters
for the forthcoming nation election than registered at the last poll in 2013.
EBC
Chairman Chief Gija Dlamini said it was targeting 500,000 voters. The Swazi Observer reported on Friday (1 June 2018) he said, ‘It could be a
miracle to have all eligible Emaswati [Swazi people] turning out for registering
but we are expecting the number to reach 80 per cent.’ If this figure is met,
400,000 people will register. He said 278,888 people had already registered.
The
400,000 target is fewer than the 414,704 people who registered to vote in 2013.
The Observer reported Dlamini saying the
500,000 figure was based on the population census undertaken in 2017. However,
this figure contradicts an announcement
made by the Swazi Government in November 2017,
that the total population was 1,093,238 people. It did not say how many people were aged 18 or over
(the voting age), but said 35.6 per cent of the population were of ‘working
age’. That would amount to 389,192 people.
The accuracy of the total population count in Swaziland is in doubt. For
years, outside organisations have been estimating the size of the population in
Swaziland and recording it as much higher than 1.1 million. The
CIA Factbook gave the figure in July 2017 as an estimated 1,467,152
(373,914 higher than the government figure).
The CIA
figures show the number of people aged 25 and over as 628,935. It also shows
324,495 people are aged between 15 and 24. It is not certain how many from this
group are aged 18 or over but when added to those aged 25 and over the number
of people eligible to vote in 2018 would certainly be between 700,000 and 800,000.
The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by
King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch,
did not report that at the last election in 2013, Dlamini said the EBC was
targeting 600,00 people to register.
He told
this to the Voice
of America radio on 26 May 2013. When it became clear that the EBC would
not make this target, he denied it had ever been set.
In 2013, 414,704 people registered to vote. At the final
(secondary) election, 251,278 actually voted. That was only 41.8 percent of the
600,000 supposedly entitled to vote.
It matters that there is an accurate figure for the number of people
eligible to vote. Elections in Swaziland are recognised
outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political parties cannot
take part and people vote under a system of ‘Monarchical
Democracy’ that underpins the King’s place as an absolute monarch. The
King chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as well as top judges. The King
and his supporters say that the people of Swaziland like it that way and there
is no need for change.
But that has never been
tested. Media are censored and freedom of assembly is limited, so there has
never been an a opportunity to debate whether people are truly happy with the
political system. The turnout at elections is used by the King’s supporters as
a way of measuring this. That is why it is in the interest of the King to
spread the message that they are well supported.
Richard Rooney
See also
‘RITUAL KILLINGS LINKED TO ELECTION’
ELECTION VOTES SOLD FOR CHICKEN
PIECES
POLICE
PROBE ELECTION “CORRUPTION’
No comments:
Post a Comment