CHIEFS HAVE FINAL SAY DURING NOMINATIONS - EBC

MBABANE - Chiefs have the final say during the nomination process, not the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), according to Chief Gija, the chairman
He was responding to a report published by the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration or Integrity.

In the July 2018 Nomination Process Preliminary Report, the commission noted that the role of traditional authorities was unclear during the electoral process.
This was after some chiefs were said to have interfered to the extent that presiding officers ended up being unable to conduct the proceedings effectively.

Further noted was that politics of an area played a major role in the smooth conduct of the process. This was in areas where there were chieftaincy disputes.
Chief Gija said there was nothing wrong with that as nominations were held under communities headed by chiefs.
He said this made it their priority to give a prelude to the official business conducted by the EBC on the day.

refreshments

“A chief can decide that the nomination process should delay and people should have refreshments first if the process started late or if he notes that some of his subjects have ailments like diabetes which need them to eat.”
The commissioner further insisted that traditional authorities did not disturb the proceedings but were there to assist the EBC during the nomination process.
He said this was necessitated by the fact that the candidates being nominated were their subjects.

Chief Gija said the EBC explained that royal kraals, led by chiefs, are the foot stool of His Majesty King Mswati III.
“If there was better infrastructure, the elections could be held in the royal kraals but due to the lack thereof, the chiefs advise on neutral locations for the election process.”
He said the places usually opted for are community structures like schools and churches due to better lighting.

Chief Gija further said if there was a change of location, the EBC would be informed by the chiefs in advance.
However, he also acknowledged that the request for change of location was necessitated by disputes within royal kraals. He further alluded to meeting the commission and explaining the role of chiefs to them.
Human Rights and Public Administration or Integrity Commissioner Sabelo Masuku said the EBC explained that chiefs played a major role during the nomination process as they were the foundation of Tinkhundla system of governance.

neutral

He said after the nomination process, the venues for hosting the national elections became neutral.
Masuku said following this, his commission advised the EBC to offer an explanation on the role of the royal kraals so that it was clear.

“The royal kraals should not bring their business on the day of nomination but should simply introduce the EBC and let it run the show on the day.”
This, he said, was the advice they gave to the EBC following their meeting of presenting the report.

Before the meeting, the Human Rights Commission had issued a report on the nomination process.
This report highlighted that chieftaincy disputes and other protocol uncertainties resulted in the nomination process being delayed. “In other areas, it was noted that opposing factions would be eliminated from participating as they would not be able to access the venue,” reads in part the report.

This was said to have happened at Dvudvusini and Luhleko.
Further, it was said the involvement of traditional structures resulted in the disturbance of the process.
This was observed at Lomngeletjane, Masibini, Macetjeni, Dvudvusini and Kamkhweli.

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