The nominations process to select candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary election in Swaziland descended into chaos in parts of the kingdom. Some people boycotted the process in protest that venues selected for the nominations were unsuitable. Elsewhere equipment failures delayed the start of nomination. About 400 residents of Ebutfongweni in the Manzini region under Kukhanyeni Inkhundla said they would not participate in the nominations process because it was being conducted at Nkiliji under Chief Mkhumbi Dlamini. They said they did not pay allegiance to Chief Mkhumbi as their area was at Mbekelweni, under Chief Nkhosini. Local media reported that the residents, all of whom are registered voters, insisted that they would not participate in the process under Nkiliji after Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) officials did not show up at Ebutfongweni. They expected officers from the commission to conduct the nominations in the area as they had done so in the past.
The Times Sunday, an independent newspaper, reported, ‘These are the same residents who recently took Chief Mkhumbi to court during the elections registration process.
‘They were against registering under the Nkiliji Chiefdom and High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini ruled that they should be allowed to register in a place of their choice as this was their constitutional right.’
Meanwhile, a change of a nomination centre at the last moment resulted in more than 50 residents of Siweni boycotting the nominations process.
Full Article: allAfrica.com: Swaziland: Chaos At Election Nominations (Page 1 of 2).
