SWAZILAND: parliamentary elections House of Assembly, 1993

SWAZILAND
Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1993

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Chamber:

House of Assembly

Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

26 September 1993
11 October 1993

Purpose of elections:

Elections were held for all elective seats in the House of Assembly following dissolution of the Parliament in late October 1992. General elections had previously been held on 16 November 1987.

Background and outcome of elections:

In late October 1992, King Mswati III announced the dissolution of the Parliament and said he would rule by decree until a new Parliament was elected. He had earlier approved constitutional amendments whereby the elective seats of the House of Assembly would be filled by direct universal suffrage.
Following the endorsement of the report of the Tinkhundla Delimitation Commission (which carved out new electoral boundaries) by the King on 25 May 1993, and the completion of voter registration on 4 July 1993, the Chief Electoral Officer announced, on 11 August, that general elections would be held on 11 October. The deadline for voter registration had been extended twice to enable eligible voters to register. At the end of this exercise, it was announced that a total of 283,693 voters (excluding Swazis living abroad) had registered, up from the 134,835 registered in the November 1987 elections. Primary elections were to be held on 26 September, while the secondary elections were billed for 11 October.
The polling was expected to be the first free one to be held in the Kingdom since it broke with the Westminster system of parliamentary government in 1973. For the first time, members of the House of Assembly would be elected directly by the voters at local level. Altogether 2094 candidates were fielded for the 55 elective seats of the Assembly. None were presented by political parties as party activity had been banned in 1973. Candidates who were successful in the primary elections were allowed to campaign for a little over a week. The main campaign issue was the future role of the King, with members of the royal family arguing for a continuing strong executive role for the monarch as a guarantee of stability.
The election took place in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Turnout was high, despite calls by some pressure groups for a boycott of the polls. They were monitored by international observers, represented by the local diplomatic missions, who concluded that the elections had been relatively free and fair.
The results showed that most of the members of the incumbent Cabinet, including Prime Minister Obed Dlamini, had lost. Only three incumbent Ministers were returned to the House of Assembly. As a result of the Prime Minister’s defeat, King Mswati III was obliged to appoint an acting Prime Minister, in the person of the former Auditor General Andreas Fakudze, pending the formation of a new government.
On 4 November, the King appointed Prince Jameson Mbilini Dlamini, former Minister of Works and Construction, as Prime Minister and on 10 November, the latter announced a 17-member Cabinet.

STATISTICS

Comments:

Political parties are banned

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men: 62

Women: 2

<<< Return to the Historical Archive page of parliamentary election results for SWAZILAND <<<

Chamber:
	House of Assembly
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	26 September 1993 11 October 1993
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all elective seats in the House of Assembly following dissolution of the Parliament in late October 1992. General elections had previously been held on 16 November 1987.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In late October 1992, King Mswati III announced the dissolution of the Parliament and said he would rule by decree until a new Parliament was elected. He had earlier approved constitutional amendments whereby the elective seats of the House of Assembly would be filled by direct universal suffrage. Following the endorsement of the report of the Tinkhundla Delimitation Commission (which carved out new electoral boundaries) by the King on 25 May 1993, and the completion of voter registration on 4 July 1993, the Chief Electoral Officer announced, on 11 August, that general elections would be held on 11 October. The deadline for voter registration had been extended twice to enable eligible voters to register. At the end of this exercise, it was announced that a total of 283,693 voters (excluding Swazis living abroad) had registered, up from the 134,835 registered in the November 1987 elections. Primary elections were to be held on 26 September, while the secondary elections were billed for 11 October. The polling was expected to be the first free one to be held in the Kingdom since it broke with the Westminster system of parliamentary government in 1973. For the first time, members of the House of Assembly would be elected directly by the voters at local level. Altogether 2094 candidates were fielded for the 55 elective seats of the Assembly. None were presented by political parties as party activity had been banned in 1973. Candidates who were successful in the primary elections were allowed to campaign for a little over a week. The main campaign issue was the future role of the King, with members of the royal family arguing for a continuing strong executive role for the monarch as a guarantee of stability. The election took place in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Turnout was high, despite calls by some pressure groups for a boycott of the polls. They were monitored by international observers, represented by the local diplomatic missions, who concluded that the elections had been relatively free and fair. The results showed that most of the members of the incumbent Cabinet, including Prime Minister Obed Dlamini, had lost. Only three incumbent Ministers were returned to the House of Assembly. As a result of the Prime Minister’s defeat, King Mswati III was obliged to appoint an acting Prime Minister, in the person of the former Auditor General Andreas Fakudze, pending the formation of a new government. On 4 November, the King appointed Prince Jameson Mbilini Dlamini, former Minister of Works and Construction, as Prime Minister and on 10 November, the latter announced a 17-member Cabinet.