House of Assembly of Eswatini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 76, currently 70 |
 | |
Political groups | Nominated (10) |
| Meeting place | |
| Lobamba | |
| Website | |
| web | |
The House of Assembly of Eswatini is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. [2] The Assembly may debate and pass bills, [3] although as the country is an absolute monarchy, the role of the legislature is mostly advisory.
The House of Assembly was established in 1967 when the Legislative Council was disbanded and bicameral legislature was established in the new constitution. [4]
A maximum of 76 members are permitted by section 95 (1) of the Constitution. [3] There are currently 66. Fifty-five members are elected from single-member constituencies corresponding to the tinkhundlas (tribal communities). [3] Fourteen tinkhundlas are in Hhohho District, 11 in Lubombo District, 16 in Manzini District, and 14 in Shiselweni District. The King appoints the other ten members, [3] at least half of whom must be women. [5] The 66th member is the Speaker of the House, who is elected from outside the House. [3] If the percentage of women members falls below 30%, a maximum of four women may be elected from the administrative regions. [2]
Each member must be a citizen of Eswatini, at least 18 years old, a registered voter, and have "paid all taxes or made arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner of Taxes". [5]
The House selects ten of the 30 members of the upper chamber, the Senate of Eswatini, the King appointing the rest. [6]
Candidates are first nominated at the tinkhundla level and chosen by secret ballot by the traditional chiefs. The top three finishers then proceed to a general election, also by secret ballot, in a first-past-the-post system of voting, where the candidate who receives the most votes from the population in each constituency is elected. [5] [6] All candidates run on a non-partisan basis, as political parties are banned in the country, and serve five-year terms. [2]
Observer teams from the Commonwealth of Nations were present at the 2003, 2008 and 2013 elections. [7] The most recent election took place in September 2018. [7]
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name 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.
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