INDEPENDENCE: PRICE OF YOUR VOTE

The year 2023 is a year of great milestones for the Kingdom of Eswatini. While the country is in the middle of an election process, a double celebration will also be hosted in honour of 55 years of independence and the birth of His Majesty King Mswati III.  

The election process is a direct offspring of the 1968 independence and a sire of our governance system, Tinkhundla. It is, therefore, interesting that the country is hosting the two landmark events, Independence Day and the general elections, at the same time with His Majesty turning 55 years of age. So the King is as old as our Independence. Happy Birthday Your Majesty! However, I won’t speak much of His Majesty’s birthday but would rather focus on the two characters of our democracy; Independence and the elections.

Development

The geographic development has improved over the period of 55 years and has greatly improved the standard of living and quality of life for emaSwati. The construction of roads, malls and landmark buildings has enhanced the appearance of the country, such that someone who died 60 years ago would get lost if they were to resurrect. 

  In the early 1960s, the Kingdom of Eswatini started a long process of democratisation as most countries in the region replaced different forms of authoritarian regimes with freely elected ones. Though the process might have started much earlier than the 60s, through consultations, the country finally obtained independence in September 6, 1968. Since then, much has been accomplished in terms of infrastructure development and governance, but long standing problems still persist. 

As the country progressed from 1968, changes in governance were implemented with the most significant one being the introduction of the Tinkhundla System of Government in 1977. Though the concept of the system dates back to the days of Prince Dabede of Gundvwini Royal Residence and Ndvuna Mfundza John Brightwell Sukati of Zabeni Royal Residence between 1945 and 1946; it was not until King Sobhuza II appointed a Delimitation Commission in 1977, which came up with a recommendation of 22 tinkhundla centres.

The first general elections were held in October 27, 1978 using the Tinkhundla System, in which voters elected 80 members (out of the 160 candidates) to an electoral college, who then selected 40 non-party candidates for Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further 10.
Eswatini moved from the Electoral College era into that of Election Commission. An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to particular offices, while an election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process. The changes reflected a great move by the country and the introduction of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) gave a fresh breath to our self-crafted democratic system of governance.

System

Among the persistent problems of the current election system, as observed from the 2023 general election, is the phenomenon of vote buying which, according to several studies, remains deeply entrenched across the African region and not just in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Consistent with these studies, I want to hypothesise that vote buying in the Kingdom of Eswatini is a function of the degree of the poverty experienced by our people.  The larger the pool of poor voters, the more likely political characters will practice vote buying to maximise their electoral chances of success.

Election campaigns in new democracies are often characterised by significant amounts of vote buying. In political party systems of governance, attempts by political parties to mobilise support by distributing cash or material benefits to voters in exchange for support before the election are consistently reported.

Research reveals that in the existing literature, it is widely accepted that poverty is a key source of vote buying at both the micro and macro level. Poor countries are supposed to have higher levels of vote buying, and within countries too, poor people are often identified as the prime targets of vote buying campaigns by candidates. However, it is worth mentioning that poverty does not always translate into widespread vote buying. While poverty generally creates fertile grounds for electoral clientelism and vote buying, the extent to which candidates have incentives to pursue vote buying campaigns during elections is strongly moderated by the nature of the electoral system.Specifically, I have discovered that the effects of poverty on vote buying are strongest in plurality electoral systems such as ours, where election for office depends directly on personal vote counts.

Correlation

While there is a strong positive correlation between poverty and vote buying, there is also an argument that the effect of poverty on vote buying becomes weaker under proportional election systems. This is an electoral system mostly used by multi party democracy States in which the distribution of seats corresponds closely with the proportion of the total votes cast for each party.However, in South Africa as a country with widespread poverty and a highly proportional electoral system that provides weak incentives for vote buying; political parties still mainly target poor people with vote buying campaigns during elections.

The electoral system may, therefore, weaken the incentives for party candidates to buy the votes of the poor, but it does not eliminate electoral clientelism targeted at the poor in new democracies. Having participated fully in the ongoing elections, I also discovered that corrupt politicians are now punished by the voters. There were reports in the mainstream media of situations in which the voters used sjamboks and threats to counter bought voters.

Voters have also mastered the art of allowing a corrupt candidate to pay for a vote only for them to not to vote for him/her in the ballot box. This is one form or manner at which voters punish corrupt politicians.  In instances where the electorate is offered cash and gifts by candidates, they can vote for candidates offering the money, refuse the money, or take the money and vote for which ever candidate they prefer. This is called voting your conscience. Specifically, voters who receive money from the candidates are still free to vote for their preferred candidate and there are very few repercussions for such defection.

His Majesty usually advises the electorate to listen to candidates and take their gifts but vote for the right person inside in the ballot box. This has been the marvel of the voting system we have in the country; that the voter is always alone inside the ballot box when crossing the face of the preferred candidate.

Election

The price of one’s vote has escalated over the years. We have moved afar from the ugly election murders where children got lost ahead of the election. We have entered an era where food parcels and cash can win one an election. What happened to the promises of job creations and poverty alleviation? Why can’t the electorate demand job securities, good education and service delivery in exchange for a vote? Some of the corrupt politicians starve the people, only to come as their messiahs on the year of election while they silently coerce them for a vote. I agree with the King, eat their foot and chop their money but vote for the right person.

Poverty in the rural areas and poverty in the urban areas has had the same negative effect on the election system of the country over the past 55 years. The election of the 12th Parliament comes with an opportunity to correct past wrongs and create a government that will uphold the decency of our independence.

The point remains that the failure of this election process is a threat to the country’s independence. A country with a failing election system has its independence hanging by the thread. In a similar tone, the success of the election process strengthens the country’s independence.
One of the political questions asked over the period of 55 years has been the evidence of the country’s independence. Recently, at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 43rd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, His Majesty King Mswati III made reference to the country’s election system.

 The King was driving a point that the country was not in conflict over its governance but there was an insurgence of terrorist disturbing the peace of the nation. The King said; “The Kingdom of Eswatini is in the middle of our electoral cycle. A voter registration exercise was conducted which returned a total number of over 584 000 registrations against a possible total figure of 650 000. This represents 90 per cent of eligible voters, a resounding success. A ringing endorsement of the general populations support for the system of government as has been repeatedly endorsed by EmaSwati.”

Celebration

This is evidence that as the country celebrates 55 years of independence, the freedom defined by the celebration is authenticated by the success of the election process. As the organised campaign starts, the onus is now on the voter to decide whether to protect the integrity of our country and the decency of our Kingdom by voting right. It is time for the electorate to align either with the corrupt and become the corrupt or to stand for what’s right in defence of our independence.  

While appreciating the effects of urban and rural poverty over the elections, I also want to applaud the process as one of the greatest milestones of the past 55 years. We are free and independent because we can elect our own governance; forget the impediments, diverse political ideologies and orientation, they are all part of our independence.  The independence to elect our government also comes with the right to criticise and challenge the same.

Education also opens one’s mind to the many forms of democracies that are before us but that does not take away the fact that we challenge the system because we are independent. The moment one starts admiring his own opinion over that of the people, that person becomes a threat to our independence. I agree with the detractors, there is more than just one way of evaluating our independence, but a free and fair election system is up there on the top. Again, as we go for the secondary elections, know that the price of your vote is your independence. 

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