Why election in Africa's last absolute monarchy isn't about democracy

The Kingdom of Eswatini, Africa’s only absolute monarchy, holds legislative elections on Friday, with political parties barred from running. The constitution highlights “individual merit” as the foundation for picking parliamentarians, who are not allowed to be members of any political party. Being in the good graces of King Mswati III, who holds ultimate power, carries a lot of weight as well. Democracy? ‘Not that much’ Around 585,000 registered voters will be invited to pick 59 members of parliament’s lower chamber, which serves only as an advisory body to the king. Mswati, who has the power to veto any legislation, chooses another ten members directly. The election is unlikely to affect the political landscape because most candidates are loyal to the monarch. Only roughly a dozen of those nominated in primaries last month had links to the opposition. Many people are afraid to state which side they support. “Democracy is not that much practiced around here,” Thantaza Silolo, spokesperson for the largest opposition group, the Swaziland Liberation Movement (Swalimo), told AFP. ‘Terrorist’ party Political parties have unclear status and cannot directly take part in the vote. They were effectively banned in 1973, but a new constitution in 2005 provided an opening allowing for freedom of association. Still, in practice, there is no legal avenue for them to register, according to democracy watchdog Freedom House. Swalimo is incorporated as a non-profit. The People’s United Democratic Movement, one of the largest opposition movements, has been declared a “terrorist” organisation and banned. Two opposition lawmakers elected in the last vote in 2018 are currently in jail. A third is in exile. Most opposition groupings have called for a boycott. Three have told voters to go to the polls. Few political gatherings have taken place during a two-week campaigning period. Polls open at seven am (0500 GMT) and close at six pm, according to the electoral commission, with results expected over the weekend. Absolute monarchy Formerly known as Swaziland, the mountainous country of 1.2 million people is landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique. About half the size of Belgium, it gained independence from Britain in 1968. Mswati, 55, ascended to the throne at the age of 18 and has ruled with an iron fist for 37 years. The king is constitutionally above the law. He appoints the prime minister and the cabinet, can dissolve both parliament and the government and commands the police and the army. Protests and killings Shows of dissent are rare, but in 2021 the kingdom was shaken by pro-democracy protests. Dozens of people were killed as security forces violently quashed demonstrations calling for reforms. A curfew was imposed, demonstrations banned and internet access curbed. Protests have continued sporadically after the crackdown. Earlier this year, human rights lawyer and government critic Thulani Maseko was shot dead through the window of his home. Hours before his murder, the King had warned activists who defy him not to “shed tears” about “mercenaries killing them”. The United Nations has called for an independent investigation. The lion king Known as Ngwenyama, “the lion” in SiSwati, the king has been widely criticised for his lavish lifestyle, while nearly 60 per cent of the population live on less than $1.90 a day. The plump monarch, who usually appears in public wearing traditional clothes, is known to love luxury cars and watches. He spends millions of dollars a year on his 15 wives, some of whom he married when they were minors and has at least 25 children. To mark the 50th anniversary of independence, in 2018 he changed the country’s name to Eswatini – meaning land of the Swazis. Eswatini has one of the highest prevalences of HIV in the world with around 26 per cent of adults aged 15 to 49 living with the AIDS-causing virus in 2022, according to UN figures.