NON-ELECTION OF FOUR WOMEN TO PARLIAMENT

Sir,

Regarding the non-election of four women to Parliament (if the number of women representatives is less than a third of the Parliament), this matter is of national importance and, at times, I wonder where the women of courage in Swaziland are? The Speaker of the House of Assembly, in an interview with the Swazi Observer in January 2013, assured the nation that the issue of the election of four more women to Parliament shall be addressed after the official opening of the house, adding that ‘only members of the house will give direction’. 

To date, nothing has been done by the Speaker , let alone giving any feedback on the issue to the house - MP Jan Sithole raised this issue last year alongside MP Johane Shongwe and the Speaker assured them that he needed to consult the Attorney General on the matter.
What is alarming is the deafening silence on the part of the Speaker, which smacks of defiance and dereliction of duty.
What the Speaker and Chairman of the EBC should know is that it is the courts of the land, and not them or the Attorney General, who are the ultimate interpreters of the Constitution. The non-election of the four women from the four regions in terms of the Constitution when less than 30 per cent of women compose Parliament is a crying shame and one wonders if there is a will to act and, if not, why not? In terms of constitutional law, the non-election of the four women renders the Parliament unconstitutional, as the constitutional provisions have not been complied with (Sections 86 and 95).

Section 95 (3) of the Constitution spells out the procedural steps on how these women shall be elected so there is no need for any ‘special electoral bills’ in these regard - the Constitution, after all, is the supreme law of the land.
If the Speaker does not adhere to the rule of law by ensuring a fair and equal opportunity for women’s representation, then this past election was a farce and the courts shall be flooded.

 JUSTA CAUSA

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