EBC ACCUSED OF SPOILING INMATES’ VOTING EXERCISE

MBABANE – The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been accused of spoiling the special voting exercise for inmates, which was held last month.

The special voting, which was conducted on August 22, 2023, was meant to accommodate registered voters who could not vote at their voting stations for various reasons and they include the inmates who are housed by His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS). An inmate who called this publication decried that the EBC, through its Deputy Chairperson Sipho Tembe made it impossible for some inmates, in particular those who claim to be from Kwaluseni area, by introducing what is known as chief codes. The inmate alleged that had the chief code not been introduced at a facility like the Matsapha Maximum Prison, his preferred candidate would have had around 600 inmates casting their votes.

Practice

“It is a fact that some of us originate from the Shiselweni Region but we have spent most of our years at Kwaluseni. Therefore, we expected to vote under that inkhundla and the chief code issue denied us the chance to practice our right,” the inmate said. The inmate said some of his colleagues ended up losing interest in the whole exercise as they were adamant that they deserved to be registered under Kwaluseni Inkhundla as they had spent most of their years there. The inmates’ voting was part of the special voting, which was held on August 22, 2023. It was gathered from the EBC that after it had consolidated, the special voting results that about 1200 inmates had registered but that not all of them had voted. EBC Deputy Chairperson Sipho Tembe confirmed the introduction of the chief codes and gave reasons for such a decision.

He said the decision was a resolution taken by the commission following that in the past two elections there had been challenges. “Because we are new, those who were there in the past two elections advised that they had met some challenges when it came to inmates. We, therefore, resolved that the inmates should vote where they originate from,” he said. Elaborating, Tembe said being the deputy chairperson; he was assigned to look into how it could best be done. “I had to do it on behalf of the commission,” he said.

exercise

Tembe was asked if the decision did not affect the voting exercise at the prisons and whether the inmates had previously been educated. He responded by saying, “We sent our officers during the time when we conducted the civic education exercise. We advised them to make it clear that inmates would vote where they were from. You never know if they communicated well. In some facilities the warders did state that all clarity was given.” He explained that the law was clear that a person had to vote where they were from and those who voted in other areas it was because they had been resident there voluntarily. “There is a difference because the inmate has been forced to be at the prison. The inmate is there because they broke the law. The other thing to consider is that an inmate might not have a permanent facility. Today he or she can be in a different facility and the following day be in another,” he said. Tembe highlighted that they met with the officers from the HMCS and it was brought to the fore that the inmates were sometimes moved to different facilities. “When it is voting time, you find that the list we have of the Juvenile facility no longer has some of the inmates who had registered as they have been moved to other facilities like the ones in Pigg’s Peak and Big Bend. Basically, there was just a lot of confusion because of the rotation and we felt this will stress us,” he explained.

Clarifying

Clarifying further, Tembe said the issue was not even about the chief code but more on what the inmate said he originated from when he arrived at that particular facility. In vernacular he said, “Kuya ngekutsi watsi wakuphi makafika noma bekahlala kuphi nakangena”. It should be noted that after the inmates’ voting exercise had been conducted, the HMCS, through its Public Relations Officer Gugulethu Dlamini said all registered inmates were afforded the opportunity to vote. Dlamini emphasised that the HMCS did not single out any inmates but ensured that all who registered to vote and were keen to do so got a chance to cast their vote. Worth noting is that on the day of the primary elections, which was on August 26, 2023, complaints were raised by Members of Parliament (MP) and indvuna candidates who demanded that the results of the inmates’ votes be counted in their presence and be added to those they had obtained at the different chiefdoms.

Our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini reported that at some polling stations the candidates raised the issue of the inmates and emaSwati in diaspora votes, before the EBC officials counted the votes that were cast by the electorate on the Saturday of the primary elections. So serious was the issue such that the counting of votes had to be halted for about an hour at one of the polling stations as candidates demanded the inmates’ votes. The inmates’ voting exercise saw popular inmates, including former Hosea and Ngwempisi MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube cast their votes. The two former MPs are inmates at the Matsapha Maximum Prison where they are awaiting sentencing, after Judge Mumcy Dlamini convicted them of terrorism and murder offences.

crashed

Worth noting is that while the duo could not be nominated and voted for in the general elections, their family members were. Dube had his wife; Gugu Baxter nominated but crashed out in the primary elections last weekend. On the other hand, Mabuza has his brother, Sifiso, in the race after he was nominated under Hosea Umphakatsi. During the primary elections, Sifiso obtained 723 votes at Elushini Umphakatsi, making him eligible to battle it out in the secondary elections scheduled for September 29. As provided for in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Section 90, the EBC has a mandate to oversee and supervise the registration of voters to ensure free and fair elections at primary, secondary or other levels. The voter registration is an important stage of the electoral process where eligible voters are identified and compiled in a voters’ list. The Voter Registration Act, 2013 specifies the eligibility of voters as it qualifies one to register to vote if that person has attained the age of 18 years, is a citizen of the Kingdom of Eswatini or is ordinarily a resident of Eswatini (who has relevant documents and has resided in the country for a period of not less than five years). Also, the voter should be a resident of that inkhundla or polling division, be of sound mind and has not been convicted for a life sentence or any other election-related offences.

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