SWADEPA DEFYING SUPREME COURT – EBC

MBABANE – EBC Chairman Chief Gija has accused SWADEPA of refusing to follow a Supreme Court decision by applying for an order to campaign unhindered as a party on behalf of their members.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) chairman, in his answering affidavit, said the High Court should not entertain SWADEPA because they allegedly had no legal basis but abused the court process and taxpayers’ money.

In its founding affidavit, the Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) submitted that there was nothing preventing political parties to campaign for particular candidates during the primary and secondary elections.

Chief Gija submitted that the Supreme Court clearly pronounced itself that a person should be elected or appointed on the basis of individual merit, and that elections were conducted through a Tinkhundla or constituency-based system.

He said the Constitution was very explicit regarding how elections were to be conducted in the country.
The SWADEPA president, according to Chief Gija, won the 2013 elections in his constituency unhindered.

SWADEPA and Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), in a letter they wrote to the EBC before the former approached the court, noted that the Supreme Court in the Jan Sithole v Government matter, was not clear about the role of political parties in an election.

The EBC chairman informed the court that SWADEPA neglected and refused to follow a decision which was binding on them, with the hope that the High Court would be persuaded to reverse the Supreme Court decision. He said the High Court should not tolerate what SWADEPA was trying to do.

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