The citizens of Eswatini on Friday will vote for members of the lower house of the country's parliament, which has an advisory role to the king, according to the country's elections management body Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
The Eswatini elections are being monitored by a special mission of the South African Development Community (SADC), the Electoral Commissions Forum of the SADC countries reported.
"The Mission is led by Commissioner Wendy Didon [from Electoral Commission of Seychelles]," the SADC body reported.
The members of parliament do not represent any political parties, which have been banned in the country since 1977, but speak as individuals. Along with the abolition of political parties, the parliamentary system was eliminated. However, in 1979, indirect parliamentary elections were restored and, in 1994, partially direct parliamentary elections were allowed.
Two-round system is used for elections to the House of Assembly. The first round of voting takes place at the level of the chiefdoms, the country's administrative division equivalent to townships. Each of the 365 chiefdoms from between three and twenty candidates elect one for the second tour. The primary elections this year were held on August 26, the Eswatini commission said.
For the second tour, the country is divided into 59 constituencies, each of them covers several chiefdoms. The winners of the primary elections in the covered chiefdoms compete for the right to represent the constituency in the lower house of parliament.
Apart from the elected deputies, the House of Assembly includes 10 members, appointed by the king. The upper chamber of parliament, Senate, comprises 10 deputies assigned by the House of Assembly and 20 deputies named by the king.
King Mswati III has ruled the southern African kingdom since 1986, when he inherited the crown from his father, Sobhuza II.
The elections are taking place shortly after the June conviction of former opposition MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube for inciting unrest during protests in 2021 advocating political reforms in the country, which resulted in the loss of lives.
Following the trial that lasted almost two years, the United States diplomatic mission in Eswatini argued the court's verdict.
The Eswatini authorities has strongly condemned the statement and accused the US Embassy of interfering in the country's judicial system and stressed that it would defend the kingdom's sovereignty.
Supporting its position, authorities of the southern African country cited the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to which, it is forbidden for diplomats to meddle in the domestic politics of the receiving state.
In addition, Eswatini spokesman Nxumalo underlined the US' controversial actions, on which the African state did not make any comments and did not intervene in any way. The official mentioned the illegal use of force in January 2021 against the supporters of former US President Donald Trump, who vandalized Capitol Hill, accusing the government of violating international law. Moreover, the spokesman recalled the establishment of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba by the US "to incarcerate the so-called terrorists."