ESWATINI, the small landlocked country in southern Afric
a, is perceived as the only country under an absolute monarchy in the region. However, the country’s political system is not as straightforward as it may seem.
According t
o Alpheous Nxumalo, the Eswatini Government Spokesperson, the country is actually an Executive Monarchy with a constitution that clearly defines the powers and responsibilities of the various government structures, including the Monarchy.
In a recent interview with South African television news channel Newzroom Afrika, Nxum
alo said that the Kingdom of Eswatini has three arms of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial. These arms work independently of each other, and no one holds the majority of executive powers. The King rules as the King in Council, which includes the Queen Mother and other traditional leaders and advisory boards that assist and advise the monarchy on certain appointments as the Constitution dictates.
‘We’ve never been, in actual fact, an absolute monarchy because the Kingdom of Eswatini is an Executive Monarchy like, in your [South Africa’s] case, you have an executive presiden
t with certain designated constitutional executive powers which does not render the president as an absolute president. So we are not an absolute monarchy, we’re an Executive Monarchy with a Constitution that clearly demarcates the responsibilities, the powers that are exercised by His Majesty the King and by all the other various government structures as we are indeed on many fundamental respects, a constitutional state,’ Nxumalo explained.
The King holds several positions, such as the Commander in Chief and Minister of Defence, but Nxumalo emphasised that the King does not wield absolute power. The appointments made by the King are based on recommendations from certain commissions, and the King cannot obstruct a piece of legislation because he does not like it. If there is a difference in terms of the content of a particular bill, the King will command a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament to deliberate on those specific areas of concern until they reach a compromise.
Regarding political participation, Nxumalo stated that people are not arbitrarily arrested, detained, or tortured for their opposition to the King. ‘Eswatini is governed by laws, and when people engage in political activism outside the confines of the law, there are consequences. The country has various political parties, and the current parliament is composed of members of different parties. The upcoming parliamentary election later this year will also be contested by members of different political parties,’ he stated.
Eswatini’s political system is not as straightforward as being under an absolute monarchy. The country has a constitution that demarcates the powers and responsibilities of the various government structures, and the King works collaboratively with other arms of government to administer the affairs of the state. The country also has political parties, and people can engage in politics freely as long as they operate within the confines of the law.
