| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Libandla / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
House of Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
20 September 2013 |
| Purpose of elections |
At stake in the 2013 elections were 55 of the 65 members in the House of Assembly, the other 10 seats being appointed by the King.
Political parties are banned from taking part in elections. All candidates thus stood as independents. The People's United Democratic Movement of Swaziland (PUDEMO, a banned political party which operates from South Africa), called on citizens to boycott the 2013 elections. PUDEMO leader Mario Masuku argued no election can be free in the absence of political parties.
Mr. Jan Sithole - a pro-democracy activist and leader of the Swaziland Democratic Party (Swadepa) was elected to the House, pledging to change the government from the inside. The outgoing Deputy Speaker, Ms. Esther Dlamini, became the sole woman to be elected to the House of Assembly in 2013. Following the elections, King Mswati III appointed two princes, a princess and three members of his Dlamini clan to the House of Assembly.
On 28 October, the King re-appointed his half-brother, Mr. Barnabas Dlamini, as Prime Minister. The latter - who pledged to tackle corruption and work for the King's vision to bring the kingdom to First World status by 2022 - will serve an unprecedented fourth term. |
Date of previous elections: 19 September 2008
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: N/A
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: September 2018
Number of seats at stake: 55 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 309 (254 men, 55 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 17.8%
Number of parties contesting the election: N/A*
*Political parties are banned from taking part in elections.
Number of parties winning seats: N/A
Alternation of power: No (Monarchy)
Number of parties in government: N/A
Names of parties in government: N/A
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 17 October 2013
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Themba Msibi |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 20 September 2013 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
415'012
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
61
4
6.15%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note:
Following the proclamation by the King on the occasion of the country's 50th anniversary in April 2018, the country name has been modified from Swaziland to Eswatini with effective of 30 May 2018.
Note on the number of women:
One woman was elected, while three others were appointed by the King.
Sources:
Parliament (07.11.2013)
http://www.elections.org.sz/
http://www.eods.eu/library/FR%20SWAZILAND%202013_en.pdf |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
