2018 Swazi general election
General elections were held in Eswatini on 18 August and 21 September 2018.[1]
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Eswatini |
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Electoral system
The House of Assembly consists of 59 elected seats and up to ten chosen by the Ngwenyama. The 59 elected members are elected in a two-round system. A primary election is held in each of the 385 chiefdoms to choose a candidate for the secondary election, with between three and twenty candidates in each chiefdom. In the secondary election, the country is divided into 59 constituencies (increased from 55 in the 2013 elections);[2] each winner of the primary election then stands in the constituency that covers their chiefdom.[3] Both rounds operate on a first-past-the-post basis, with all candidates running as independents.[3]
Primary election
The primary round took place on 24 August 2018, with 156,973 Swazis casting a vote out of a total of 544,310 registered voters, resulting in a 28.83% turnout. These numbers, which suggested a low confidence in the electoral process in the country, were later removed from the Electoral Commission website.[4]
Secondary election
The electoral commission quickly revealed the name of the 59 winners of the secondary election, yet without divulging any numbers of votes being cast for the candidates or in total. In 2013, these results had never been made public. Following the election, King Mswati appointed six members of the royal family to the House of Assembly and eight to the Senate.[4]
References
- Election dates revealed Times of Swaziland
- Unhappy residents boycott election Archived 2018-08-17 at the Wayback Machine Swazi Media Commentary, 23 May 2018
- Swaziland: Primary and Secondary Elections: 24 August – 20 September 2013: Final Report Archived 18 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine Election Experts Mission
- Swaziland: Results of Swaziland Election Not Published One Month After Poll Questioning Kingdom's Claim to Democracy