General elections were held in Swaziland on 19 September 2008 to elect the members of the House of Assembly.[1] It was the first election under the new constitution introduced in 2006, and the first time that foreign observers were allowed to monitor an election in the country.[2] It was observed by an Expert Team established by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the request of the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Swaziland.[3]

On the day before the election, several union officials were arrested for attempting to block the border with South Africa at Oshoek for a pro-democracy protest.[4]

Political parties remained banned in Swaziland, so all candidates for the 55 seats were independents.[2] Following the election, King Mswati III was to appoint 10 more MPs. The National Assembly would then elect 10 members for the Senate, with the King appointing 20 more.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Swaziland sets parliamentary poll for Sept. 19, Xinhua (People's Daily Online), 31 July 2008
  2. 1 2 3 Swazis vote in controversial poll, BBC News, 19 September 2008
  3. ↑ "Swaziland National Elections, 19 September 2008" (PDF). London: Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  4. ↑ Police hold Swazi poll protesters BBC News, 18 September 2008


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