Times Of Swaziland: DISRUPT ELECTIONS, FACE THE LAW - EBC WARNS

DISRUPT ELECTIONS, FACE THE LAW - EBC WARNS
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Nhlanganiso Mkhonta on 09/03/2023 08:59:00


MBABANE – EBC Chairperson Prince Mhlabuhlangene Dlamini has warned those who
intend to disrupt the upcoming elections to be ready to face the consequences
and be better legally covered.
The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) chairperson was speaking during
the official unveiling of the 2023 General Elections logo and slogan. The
unveiling was held at SibaneSami Hotel yesterday. Dlamini stated that the
election processes were legal. He said it was fundamentally important to
underscore that every aspect of pre to post-elections was legally binding. He
stated that all processes and interruptions were also legally binding in the
legal enforcement. The prince said when one spoke of a political right, that
same person was also speaking about a duty. In light of this, he said there was
no right that did not go without responsibility or duty.
Obligation
“Every right as a matter of legal principle has a corresponding obligation, so
it becomes unfortunate when people propose to exercise an incomplete right,”
he said. He said people proposed to practise a certain right but failed to
execute a duty corresponding to that right. The prince said people should
respect other people’s rights as a matter of principle. He said when one
infringed on other people’s rights, there were legal consequences. The
chairperson said the legal consequences were not declared by either EBC or the
government, but by the Constitution and the legal system of the country.  “For
every action that is legal, there is a consequence that follows,” he said.
Dlamini said he was mentioning this in order for everyone who intended to
exercise any political right, to ask themselves if, by doing so, they were
honouring the corresponding duty owed to another person who possessed the same
political right. He said what they were all about as EBC and the nation was
strictly a constitutional legal process. He said, therefore, all the protections
were attached to the enforcement of these constitutional rights, which included
political rights and rights to elect and to participate in the elections.
Dlamini said the right to participate in elections should not be trampled upon
by anyone unless there was a constitutional excuse, not a personal one.
Enforcement
The prince said it was universal that for every legal right, there was law
enforcement that conferred effects to that legal right. He said, therefore, it
should not be any wonder that when there was any violation of a political or
constitutional right, it would go without saying that the law enforcement
mechanism that supported those rights should be effected. He said such was not
peculiar to Eswatini because it was common cause that the purpose of law was to
maintain law and order in society. The prince warned stakeholders, be it
domestic and international community, who intended to interact in the upcoming
elections, to take heed, to avoid self-fulfilling prophecy. He explained that a
self-fulfilling prophecy was when one declared something and went behind the
scenes to make that particular declaration come to light.  Speaking about the
country’s political system, the Tinkhundla System in particular, he said every
person had a right to constructively criticise the system. He said
unconstructive criticism was more or less related to self-fulfilling prophecy.
He said as such, if the narrative would be that the Tinkhundla System under
which the elections were conducted would be a flop by whatever reason, it should
not be then that people would participate in fulfilling that prophecy. He said
people should not participate in the self-fulfilling prophecy when criticising
the Tinkhundla System. Dlamini said it should not be denied that when one spoke
of the concept of democratic government that was not a concept native to
emaSwati. He said democratic government was not a concept that came from
emaSwati’s inheritance. He said it should be learnt and the principles that
governed it were fixed, stating that it needed to be learnt, unlike things that
were native to emaSwati.
Important
The chairman mentioned that it was very important to understand that the entire
elections process was related to the establishment of a democratic government.
He said it was important for emaSwati in their interactions and as well as
during the voter civic education to be mindful of the fact that there were
matters that were jurisdictionally confined to elections. Dlamini said the
establishment of the democratic government should be broken down into the
institution (Tinkhundla System) and the people elected to function the
institution. He noted that these were two different interactors and clearly
there were two bases of responsibilities. He said there were those of the
institution and then there were responsibilities of the individuals put in the
system through elections. He said these people were the Member of Parliament
(MP), indvuna yenkhundla and bucopho.
He further explained that these people were charged with responsibilities to
execute in the context of the institution. Dlamini said sometimes it could be
the failure of people elected or the system, notwithstanding the efficiency of
the people. He said the failure of the people then necessitated the need for a
voter civic education so that then the quality of people who would be voted to
Parliament were the very people qualitatively able to manage the system.
Responsible
Dlamini said as responsible emaSwati interacted in a bid to refine their system,
they should come clear as to which had failed; the people or the system. He said
it was important to distinguish between the two, adding that the elected people
had a responsibility to be accountable to their voters. The prince was speaking
following the various disruptions that have been witnessed since the voter
education exercise started in light of the national elections to be held mid
this year. At KaLiba, officials from the EBC had to leave hurriedly after some
of the youth of the area had attacked them. They had asked the EBC officials why
they visited the area yet their MP, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza, was behind bars. Also
at Somntongo, there was a disruption of the voter education exercise as the
residents called for the convening of a national dialogue.
PUDEMO MAINTAINS STANCE
BY MTHUNZI MDLULI
MBABANE – PUDEMO does not want Tinkhundla elections in 2023 or any other time
in Eswatini, going forward.
This was stated by the People’s United Democratic Movement Secretary General
(SG) Penuel Malinga during the political party’s 10th General Congress held
between February 24 to 26, 2023 in Driekoppies, Mpumalanga Province, in a
statement released yesterday. Malinga called upon emaSwati to prepare for a
defiance campaign to stop any possibility of Tinkhundla elections until
negotiations and drafting of a democratic and all inclusive Constitution was in
place. “We wish to be unequivocal in calling for a genuine multiparty
democratic electoral framework as the basis for the election of any government
of the country,” said Malinga.
Committed
The PUDEMO SG said they were committed to continuing leading and catalysing the
mass rebellion of the people across the entire country and to turn their mass
power into a coherent irreversible force that was emblematic of a conscious
movement for democracy and social justice. “Our people’s anger against
landlessness will be collectively mobilised to become the seedbed for the total
liberation of Eswatini. We are unequivocal that the land belongs to the people
and we declared that,”  said the SG. Meanwhile, Malinga said they affirmed
that the struggle was not a spontaneous occurrence of unexpected incidents, but
a conscious process towards the building of society, based on respect for
fundamental human rights and dignity.
Furthermore, Malinga said the congress delegated all structures of PUDEMO to
embark on a massive recruitment drive so that this movement of the people could
exist in all villages, townships, cities, factories, educational institutions
and its members must actively lead popular people’s struggles for freedom.