MSF CALLS FOR POLITICAL ‘REFERENDUM’

MBABANE - In order to clear the political confusion, MSF hints on a plebiscite’s significance.

Sivumelwano Nyembe, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Swaziland Multi-stakeholder Forum (MSF), said a free and fair plebiscite can determine the attitudes and will of the people. Nyembe said everyone can make any claim they desire without the evidence of the plebiscite. He said: “To determine the attitudes and will of the people, the country must conduct a specific, free and fair plebiscite.”  Asked to define the plebiscite, Nyembe said it is essentially a direct vote by the people of a country or district to decide on a crucial issue, such as choosing a ruler, governmentor national policy.

He said it is a powerful tool for gauging public opinion and ensuring that the government represents the people’s will. In the context of Eswatini, the spokesperson said a plebiscite will provide a clear, scientific view on whether the people support or reject a multi-party democratic system.  “The people of Eswatini deserve a democratic system that reflects their true aspirations,” he said. He added: “To illustrate the importance of plebiscites, consider the Brexit example.”

Nyembe said the 2016 referendum allowed the British people to decide whether to leave the European Union, providing a clear mandate for the government to act. Similarly, he said a plebiscite in Eswatini will offer a direct expression of the people’s will, helping to build a more democratic and representative government. By conducting a free and fair plebiscite, he mentioned that Eswatini can ensure that the people’s voices are heard, and their desires for democracy are respected.Reacting to the call for the plebiscite, Alpheous Nxumalo, the Government Press Secretary,  said it is absolutely unnecessary. Nxumalo said the country is currently at peace with itself in the present political architecture.  “What’s the plebiscite for?” wondered Nxumalo.

Counterfeit

He said the call or hint on the plebiscite is just a political counterfeit demand. He said it is one way of peddling, stocking and agitating for national dissatisfaction without genuine causes. Plebiscites and referendums are consultations with the people to decide on issues of relevance to the nation, particularly matters of a constitutional, legislative or administrative nature.
It is said that the main distinction between them is that the plebiscite is called prior to the creation of the legislative or administrative Act that deals with the subject at hand, and the referendum is called later, and it is up to the people to ratify or reject the proposal.

Section 246 of the Constitution refers to a referendum when specially entrenched provisions are to be amended.  On January 31, 2023, Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, the former Prime Minister, addressing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit of the Organ Troika plus Eswatini held in Namibia, took the heads of State through the referendum process in 1964. Dlamini said it was held among the people in Swaziland (Eswatini) to determine whether they wished to be governed under a system of multiparty democracy advocated by the colonial rulers or under the authority of the King-in-Council under traditional law and custom.

The former prime minister told the presidents and senior government officials that 99 per cent of emaSwati voted in favour of being ruled under the authority of their King-in-Council.
 The former prime minister also said less than one per cent voted in favour of multiparty democracy. He said less than one per cent of the people voted in favour of a Constitution with a foreign system of multiparty democracy. He said a Westminster styled Parliament had been imposed on the people of Eswatini. In 1973, he said, parliamentarians met at a joint sitting and resolved unanimously to revoke the foreign Constitution and restore the authority of the King-in-Council under Eswatini Law and Custom. 

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