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General elections were held in Swaziland in November 1987, having originally been scheduled for 1988, but brought forward due to tensions in the country. [1] The elections were held using the 'Tinkhundla' system, in which voters elected members to an electoral college, who then selected 40 non-party candidates for the Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further ten. [2] Unlike previous elections, all forty of the selected candidates were new to parliament. [1]
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name Swaziland and formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age have been found in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. Later, the population became predominantly Nguni during and after the great Bantu migrations. People speaking languages ancestral to the current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The country now derives its name from a later king named Mswati II. Mswati II was the greatest of the fighting kings of Eswatini, and he greatly extended the area of the country to twice its current size. The people of Eswatini largely belong to a number of clans that can be categorized as Emakhandzambili, Bemdzabu, and Emafikamuva, depending on when and how they settled in Eswatini.
Manzini is a region of Eswatini, located in the center-west of the country. It has an area of 4,093.59 km2 and a population of 355,945 (2017). Its administrative center is Manzini. It borders all three other regions of Eswatini: Hhohho in the north, Lubombo in the east, and Shiselweni in the south. It is bordered by the Mpumalanga province in South Africa to the west.
Eswatini is divided into four regions: Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni. Each region is further divided into tinkhundla. There are 55 tinkhundla in Eswatini and each elects one representative to the House of Assembly of Eswatini. Tinkhundla are, in turn, divided into smaller imiphakatsi.
The Parliament of Eswatini is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber and an upper one. Some of the members of both chambers are elected, while the rest are appointed by the King of Eswatini. Election is by secret ballot in a first-past-the-post system of voting. Members of both chambers serve for five-year terms. All candidates run on a non-partisan basis, as political parties are banned.
The House of Assembly of Eswatini is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. The Assembly may debate and pass bills, although as the country is an absolute monarchy, the role of the legislature is mostly advisory.
In Eswatini, an inkhundla is an administrative subdivision smaller than a district but larger than an umphakatsi. There are 55 tinkhundla in Eswatini: 14 in Hhohho District, 11 in Lubombo District, 16 in Manzini District, and 14 in Shishelweni District. According to the constitution of Eswatini, the government for Eswatini is a democratic, participatory, tinkhundla-based system that emphasizes devolution of state power from central government to tinkhundla areas and individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office. The system is non-partisan since the constitution does not recognize political parties, although section 25 of the constitution allows for open freedom of assembly and association. Each inkhundla elects one representative to the House of Assembly of Eswatini, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament (Libandla). The same trend is applied in local government elections. This governing system was designed by King Sobhuza II with the assistance of political scholars and lawyers. It came to effect in 1978 and was adjusted in the early 1990s.
General elections were held in Swaziland on 19–20 September and 18–19 October 2003. Fifty-five independent candidates were elected to the Parliament. Voter turnout was only 18.4% of the 213,947 registered voters.
General elections were held in Swaziland in June 1964 to elect members of the Legislative Council. The result was a victory for the Imbokodvo National Movement, which won eight of the directly-elected seats and all eight Tinkhundla seats.
General elections were held in Swaziland between 16 and 17 May 1972 to elect members of the House of Assembly. The result was a third successive victory for the royalist Imbokodvo National Movement, which won 78% of the vote and 21 of the 24 seats, based on a voter turnout of 74.0%. The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress won three seats, but five days after the election one of its successful candidates was served with a deportation order as an "undesirable alien". Although he subsequently won a High Court ruling against the order, in November the parliament created a tribunal through which his citizenship was revoked. The Appeal Court declared the act unconstitutional, and on 12 April 1973 the parliament passed a motion that "called on the king to devise ways and means of dealing with the crisis". The result was that King Sobhuza II suspended the constitution, dismissed Parliament, banned all political parties and became an absolute monarch.
General elections were held in Swaziland on 27 October 1978. The elections was held using the Tinkhundla system, in which voters elected 80 members to an electoral college, who then selected 40 non-party candidates for the Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further ten. The new system strengthened the position of the country's traditionalists.
General elections were held in Swaziland in October 1983. The elections was held using the Tinkhundla system, in which voters elected members to an electoral college, who then selected 40 non-party candidates for the Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further ten. Although there was no voter registration, the government claimed voter turnout was around 80%, although there were suggestions that people were pressured to vote.
General elections were held in Swaziland in September and October 1993. The elections was held using the Tinkhundla system, in which voters elected members to an electoral college, who then selected 55 non-party candidates for the Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further ten.
General elections were held in Swaziland on 16 and 24 October 1998. The elections was held using the Tinkhundla system, in which voters elected members to an electoral college, who then selected 55 non-party candidates for the Parliament, whilst the King appointed a further ten. 198,445 voters were registered, with 119,845 casting votes, giving a turnout of 60.4%.
General elections were held in Swaziland on 20 September 2013.
The Swazi Democratic Party, also known by its abbreviation SWADEPA, is a political party in Eswatini led by its president Jan Sithole. SWADEPA was established in 2011 and took part in the 2013 parliamentary elections in Swaziland by putting up candidates running as individuals.
General elections were held in Eswatini on 18 August and 21 September 2018.
Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini is the union government created by the constitution of Eswatini where the monarch holds supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The Ngwenyama (lion) is a hereditary leader, rules the country, with the assistance of a council of ministers and a national legislature.
The Sive Siyinqaba National Movement is a political party in Eswatini. It is led Ngomuyayona Gamedze as of 5 November 2022 as president, taking over from former Minister of Tourism Musa Nkambule and calls for a constitutional monarchy as a replacement for the absolute monarchy currently in place in Eswatini. Sive Siyinqaba National Movement also calls for a government by the people, for the people. The party's official colors blue and yellow stand for peace and wealth.
The Legislative Council of Swaziland was the legislative body of Swaziland Protectorate from 1964 to 1967.
