Swaziland's political system

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Eswatinis map

The political system of Swaziland is from the position of the absolute ruling king - since 1986 Mswati III. - dominates. The current constitution of Swaziland has been in force since 2005. It takes into account numerous Swaziland traditions.

Constitution

The current constitution was adopted on October 4, 2004 and introduced in 2005. Former King Sobhuza II had proclaimed the constitution created in 1968 for independence based on the British model . According to the text, the 2004 constitution guarantees respect for human rights . It describes the country as democratic , but at the same time ensures the absolute supremacy of the king.

executive

King Mswati III (2009)

The head of state is the king (English King or Ngwenyama , "lion"), his deputy the Ndlovukazi ("elephant"), usually his mother, but possibly another female relative. Since 1986 this has been Ntombi , Mswati's mother. The royal family resides in Lobamba , which lies between the two largest towns in the country.

A king cannot be crowned until he has acquired the traditional position of iNgwenyama . Consequently, he is referred to as King and iNgwenyama in the constitution . He is also Commander-in-Chief of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force , the Police Service and the Correctional Services , i.e. of the army, police and prison administration. No law passed by parliament can come into force without the consent of the king.

The Umntfwana is the crown prince who may become Ngwenyana at the age of 18 at the earliest .

The Umntfwanenkhosi Lombhula , about "Supreme Prince", is the deputy of the Ndlovukazi .

The King and the Ndlovukazi are advised by the Ligunqa and Liqoqo (see below).

Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini (Prime Minister 1996 - 2003 and 2008 - 2018)

The king can dissolve parliament. The king, on the advice of the Liqoqo, appoints the prime minister, whose seat is the capital Mbabane . The prime minister leads the cabinet. Since 2018 this has been Ambrose Dlamini . Almost all prime ministers in the history of the country had the surname Dlamini and were or are members of the Dlamini clan, whose current 25th ruler King Mswati III. is. Prime ministers and ministers may rule for a maximum of two terms. The Attorney-General belongs to the cabinet.

legislative branch

The parliament consists of two chambers, which are also located in Lobamba. The legislative period is five years. The Senate consists of up to 31 members, 20 of whom are appointed by the King and ten by the House of Assembly . At least five of the senators appointed by the King and at least eight of the Senators appointed by the House of Assembly should be women according to the constitution. The Senate is headed by the President . Certain laws must be approved by the Senate to take effect.

The House of Assembly has a maximum of 76 members, of which a maximum of 60 are elected by the people in tinkhundla and up to ten are appointed by the king. Marginal groups should be taken into account. If the proportion of women is below 30%, four additional women from the four regions are elected by parliament. Another member is the Attorney-General , but he has no voting rights. In the 2013 elections there were 55 tinkhundla , before the 2018 elections the number was increased to 59. The speaker leads the parliamentary sessions. The elections take place in two steps: In the numerous chiefdoms ( imiphakatsi , singular umphakatsi ) people stand for election as independents . All the winners of these votes then run for election in the constituencies , tinkhundla . The person with the highest number of votes ultimately becomes a member of the House of Assembly , where there are no parliamentary groups due to the lack of party lists . Political parties have been banned since 1973; her status has been unclear since 2005; they are not mentioned in the constitution. Opposition parties include the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) and the Communist Party of Swaziland . Almost all ministers were voted out of office in the 2013 elections.

Judiciary

As head of the executive , legislative and judicial branches , the king enjoys immunity .

According to the constitution, the judiciary is independent of the royal family. The Supreme Court is the Supreme Court , and below it is the High Court . Both are headed by the Chief Justice . As in South Africa and Lesotho, the legal system corresponds to Roman-Dutch Law . There are local dishes, some with traditional jurisdiction.

Other bodies and officials specified by the constitution at national level

  • The Attorney-General is the government's chief legal advisor. He is appointed by the King, on the advice of the Minister of Justice, after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission .
  • The Secretary of Cabinet directs the civil service. He is also appointed by the King - on the advice of the Prime Minister and on the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission .
  • The Elections and Boundary Commission consists of five people, directs the conduct of elections and can change the boundaries of the tinkhundla .
  • The Auditor-General is the state's chief auditor.
  • The Director of Public Prosecutions is the chief prosecutor .

Municipal level

Regions in Eswatini

Each inkhundla (plural: tinkhundla ) is headed by an indvuna and the Bucopho or Executive Committee.

The country is divided into four administrative units or regions ( regions ), each of which is managed by a regional administrator who is appointed by the king on the advice of the minister for tinkhundla . He is supported by the Regional Council , which is formed from members of the respective Bucopho .

Traditional positions set out in the constitution

  • iNgwanyama or Ngwanyama - the king
  • iNdlovukazi or Ndlovukazi - usually the Queen Mother
  • Ligunqa - several relatives of the king on the paternal side ( Bantfwabenkhosi or Princes of the Realm ) advise the king
  • Liqoqo - group of advisers to the king, including not only relatives but also "deserving" people who do not belong to the royal family; Liqoqo is below Ligunqa
  • Sibaya , also Swazi National Council - assembly of the Tikhulu and the adult citizens present in front of the residence of the Ndlovukazi
  • Tikhulu , also called chiefs - the local traditional rulers
  • Tindvuna , also Royal Governors - responsible for the regiments and royal residences; membership can be inherited or conferred
  • Umntfwanenkhosi Lombhula - the deputy of the Ndlovukazi

Other bodies

  • The Council of Chiefs , consisting of twelve chiefs from all four regions, is named on a rotating basis by the king and advises him on questions of traditional rulers and traditional customs.

Memberships

Swaziland is a member of the United Nations , the African Union , the Commonwealth of Nations and the Southern African Development Community , among others .

Human rights

Even if human rights are guaranteed by the constitution, free will formation is severely restricted. In particular, no parties are allowed in parliament. The work of the unions was also severely restricted and was temporarily banned completely in 2014. Amnesty International criticized the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act of 1938 and the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 for being contrary to the Constitution. The government of Swaziland appealed against an identical decision by the High Court . The tightening of the Public Order Bill No. 8 , which is primarily intended to restrict spontaneous gatherings, is objected to. The United States put economic pressure on so the laws were at least softened.

Protection against torture is also seen as inadequate, as the non-use of torture is not stipulated by law. The police would be given far-reaching powers to use lethal force. A law passed in 2009 to protect women from domestic violence has not yet come into force.

Furthermore, the unequal distribution of wealth in favor of the king is criticized.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Constitution of Swaziland on the government website of Swaziland (English; PDF)
  2. ↑ a b c d 2016 Annual Report: Swaziland by Amnesty International , accessed October 20, 2017
  3. ↑ Swaziland bans trade unions. industriall-union.org (English), accessed on October 19, 2017
  4. ↑ US gov't expresses concern over Swaziland's Public Order Bill. apanews.net of March 15, 2017 (English), accessed October 20, 2017
  5. ^ Swazi king signs Public Order and Terrorism Act Amendment bills. agoa.info, accessed on October 20, 2017