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Eswatini

Monthly Event Reports

September 2023 | Eswatini holds legislative elections

On 29 September, Eswatini held legislative elections to select 59 members of its House of Assembly, the lower chamber of the country’s bicameral parliament (another ten members of the chamber are appointed by the King). Political parties are banned in Eswatini and under its electoral system candidates contest as independents. A major political cleavage in the country is between those who support the country’s absolute monarchy and those opposed to it and, according to media reports, most of the parliamentarians elected are considered to be loyal to the King. Eight women were elected and another five were due to be appointed by the King. This total fell short of the country’s gender quota, which requires at least 30 per cent of members of the House to be female. The elections were observed by missions from the Africa Union and the Southern African Development Community, both of which found them to have been peaceful and orderly but noted the low representation of women in parliament.

June 2023 | Two pro-democracy MPs convicted of terrorism and murder
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On 1 June, two MPs at the forefront of Eswatini’s pro-democracy movement, Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, were convicted of terrorism and murder in the country’s High Court. The convictions, described by Amnesty International as ‘flawed’, relate to the MP’s participation in pro-democracy protests in 2021. These protests called for reform of Eswatini’s centralised system of government, under which it’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III, enjoys considerable executive powers, including over the judiciary. Anti-terrorism legislation has frequently been used by the state to silence government critics and the charges brought against the MPs were widely perceived to be politically motivated. According to analysts, the convictions signal the king’s strong resistance to democratic reform and, because of his control of the electoral system, this is likely to make it more difficult than ever for pro-democracy candidates to be elected at the forthcoming parliamentary elections, that are scheduled for September 2023.

January 2023 | Influential human rights lawyer and democracy activist shot dead
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In a development that could further destabilise Eswatini, human rights lawyer and democracy activist Thulani Maseko was shot dead in a suspected state assassination (an allegation the government denies). Since May 2021, the country has been gripped by a violent political crisis, which has pitted the county’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III, against a coalition of political and civil society actors seeking the democratisation of Eswatini. Maseko was a highly influential advocate of a negotiated transition to democracy and commentators fear his death may undermine his cause within the increasingly militant pro-democracy coalition, making the peaceful resolution of the crisis less likely. In recent months, the crisis has descended into violent conflict, with pro-democracy extremists carrying out reprisal killings against the security agencies and Mswati allies in response to the continuing state-repression of protesters (which has included killings, abductions and torture).  

November 2022 | Militant pro-democracy group carries out spate of violence in Eswatini

A spate of violent attacks carried out in November by the underground pro-democracy group, the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces (SISF), mark a further escalation in Eswatini’s increasingly violent political crisis, which has pitted the country’s repressive absolute monarch, King Mswati III, against a coalition of political and civil society activists seeking an end to his 35-year reign and reform of the Tinkhundla system of government (a form of local government through 55 constituencies) he oversees. According to local media, the SISF, which operates as the quasi-military wing of the more militant elements of this coalition, claimed responsibility for the execution of a traditional chief (thought to be a relative of the King), the killing of a police officer and an unspecified number of soldiers, and an attack on the home of a pro-Tinkhundla member of parliament. These incidents appear to be a part of a new wave of attacks that began in October 2022.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
1 172 370
System of government
Absolute Monarchy
Head of government
Prime Minister Russell Mmemo Dlamini (since 2023)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
First Past the Post
Women in lower or single chamber
17.1%
Women in upper chamber
40.0%
Last legislative election
2023
Head of state
King Mswati III
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
08/11/2022
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
70.27%
Population Tooltip
1 172 370
System of government
Absolute Monarchy
Head of government
Prime Minister Russell Mmemo Dlamini (since 2023)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
First Past the Post
Women in lower or single chamber
17.1%
Women in upper chamber
40.0%
Last legislative election
2023
Head of state
King Mswati III
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
08/11/2022
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
70.27%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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