Times Of Swaziland: 3 POLITICAL ENTITIES WALK OUT OF MSF MEET

3 POLITICAL ENTITIES WALK OUT OF MSF MEET
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Thokozani Mamba on 31/07/2023 15:39:00


SITEKI – The feud among some political parties regarding their participation
in the ongoing 2023 General Elections took a twist on Friday when members of
three political entities walked out of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) General
Assembly held at Esibayeni Lodge.
This happened after there were disagreements on some of the key issues that were
discussed during the meeting. According to Swaziland Liberation Movement
(SWALIMO) Spokesperson Thantaza Silolo, there were threats allegedly issued by
members of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) that political
organisations that were participating in the 2023 General Elections would be
given ‘divorce papers’ after the conference. The Times SUNDAY reported that
PUDEMO had stated that disciplinary processes would be taken against members who
were found to have participated in the ongoing general elections. Silolo said as
an organisation, in solidarity with the two others, namely; Inhlava and
Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA), they resolved to walk out of the meeting
and left behind members of PUDEMO in that meeting. The spokesperson said the
threats were dire and they opted not to be bullied, hence their decision of
walking out of the meeting and further terminating their membership with MSF.
He added that his organisation had not intended to terminate its membership with
MSF, but there were compelling circumstances, such as the threats that made
SWALIMO and other political entities resolve to walk out and to take part in the
ongoing general elections. “I was part of the conference alongside two other
delegates from the movement. There were threats that organisations that were
participating in the elections would be given ‘divorce papers’ after the
meeting. We saw those threats as dire and opted not to be bullied but just
leave. We literally walked out, leaving mainly PUDEMO members alone in the
meeting. It is no secret that SWALIMO supports the participation in the
elections, hence we will not accept bullying by any organisation that claims to
boycott them yet some of its members are participating also,” he said. Inhlava
Vice Chairman Sifundvo Bulunga said they walked out of the meeting after
disagreeing on the issue of their stance on participating in the elections.
Bulunga said they were also not happy in the manner in which the MSF purportedly
appeared to be belonging to one party.
agree
“We opted to walk out as we didn’t agree on a number of things that we
talked about during the meeting like the issue of participating in the
elections. We had differences, hence we resolved that we should walk out of the
meeting as it appeared our views were not considered,” he said. SWADEPA
President Barnes Dlamini could not be reached for comment at the time of
compiling this report, as he did not answer his mobile phone after several
attempts were made. However, PUDEMO Secretary General (SG) Penuel Malinga asked
that a comment be sourced from the MSF as he was not aware of the developments
that took place during the conference. MSF SG Sikelela Dlamini said members of
three organisations namely; SWALIMO, SWADEPA and Inhlava walked out of the
meeting after a fierce debate ensued around participation in the elections.
Dlamini said according to eBundu Resolution, organisations collectively resolved
that they would boycott the elections as a result; they were served with letters
pointing out to them that they were violating the resolution as a collective and
the constitutional clause of the organisation that they voluntarily joined. “I
think they felt they needed some time to deal with such realities in their
constituencies. And what is bad is how they conducted themselves by walking out
of the meeting. Doing so to someone is a very strong statement of disapproval of
his or her way of doing things. This is what they did,” he said.