27 MP, TINDVUNA NOMINEES OUT OF ELECTIONS RACE

MBABANE – A total 27 Member of Parliament (MP) and indvuna yenkhundla aspirants are out of the elections race.

Following the nomination of aspiring candidates for the position of MP, indvuna yenkhundla and bucopho, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) engaged in a vetting process which sought to establish the status of their compliance with the tax laws of the country, among other issues.  The vetting also sought to establish whether the nominees had pending criminal records, or were convicted and sentenced to more than six months imprisonment.  Section 13 (1) (c) of the Elections Act also provides that a person shall spend five years (60 months) after completing his/her sentence, if convicted of offences falling under the fourth and fifth schedule.

Concluded

EBC Communication Officer Mbonisi Bhembe shared that they had concluded the vetting exercise and 27 aspiring MPs and tindvuna tetinkhundla did not make the list, as they did not tick all the boxes against the different variations they were checked on in the vetting process.  This means that the aspirants were not declared duly nominated, as depicted in Section 31 of the Elections Act. Declaration of candidate duly nominated for election, as stipulated in the section, is when the presiding officer delivers to the returning officer a (a) nomination paper; (b) declaration on oath; (c) police clearance certificate, (d) proof of payment of tax or arrangement thereof, and(e) subject to Subsection (6), consent letter from employer, in the case of a public officer. “The returning officer shall, after examining the documents and finding them satisfactory, declare the candidate duly nominated, unless proof is given to the satisfaction of the returning officer of the candidate’s death, withdrawal or disqualification,” reads the Act.

The analysis of the commission on nominated persons across the country showed that out of the 5 700 nominees, 1 350 were nominated to contest for 59 MP posts, as per the number of tinkhundla centres. The report also shows that out of the 5 700, 1 420 nominees who were nominated for the position of indvuna yenkhundla will also be competing for 59 posts. It also points out that 2 950 candidates nominated for the position of bucopho will be contesting for about 330 posts, as per the royal kraals (imiphakatsi) in the country. However, Bhembe explained that for now, they prioritised the two positions and were yet to conclude on the bucopho position. This means that out of the 2 770 who were nominated for MP and indvuna yenkhundla, 2 743 made the list and would be competing for the 59 available posts in each position.

The commission did not have immediate information on how many of the 27 nominated persons were under the MP or indvuna yenkhundla position, nor how many were out of the race because of tax, fingerprints or inadequacy in supporting their nomination. “We are currently working on the logistics of mounting the pictures and the names of the nominated persons at each of the nominating centres and we have already done so in some of the areas,” said Bhembe. He said a good percentage of the persons who did not make the list had tax issues, while others had challenges getting support of 10 people after their nomination; hence it could not stand. Section 31 (34) of the Elections Act, 2013 depicts that the nomination of candidates for the respective elections shall be endorsed with the consent of the candidate for nomination and supported by at least 10 registered voters. Bhembe also clarified that there would be no activity regarding the bucopho position in the primary elections, slated for August 26, 2023, as they would be elected in the secondary elections.  

On another note, Bhembe warned the nominees against campaigning before the allotted time. He also warned the electorate against tempting the aspiring candidates. Directing to those who accused others of campaigning, Bhembe advised them to collect evidence that could assist the court. He said a tribunal had been set up to deal with elections-related cases.  Worth mentioning is that this publication ran an article on some residents of Enyonyane community in Ezulwini, who were left dejected after police officers allegedly forced them to abort their meeting, which had been convened by a nominee for the MP position.

The officers later left with the nominee and his campaign manager (galajane) and the purpose of the meeting could not be immediately ascertained but there were talks that it had to do with the ongoing general elections. In what would sound as good news to those with nicknames, Bhembe previously mentioned that the commission had considered including the nicknames in the posters. This, Bhembe said, was because the candidates were known by their nicknames to the electorate.

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