BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Cabinet Ministers will be in office until September 25, 2023.
This includes Cabinet Ministers who are running for MP positions in the 12th Parliament and will be in office even during the campaigning period.
Yesterday, a gazette that was signed by His Majesty King Mswati the III, through the Attorney General was made public, that Cabinet Ministers will be in office until September 25, 2023.
“In exercise of powers conferred by Section 67 of the Constitution of Eswatini Act, 2005, I, Mswati III, King and Ingwenyama of Eswatini, hereby order and command the continuation in office of Cabinet until September 25, 2023,” read the legal notice No. 183 of 2023.
Worth mentioning is that, Section 67, Subsections 1 to 3, gives the King powers to appoint a Prime Minister on recommendation of the King’s Advisory Council.
Subsection 2 states that the King can also appoint ministers from both chambers of Parliament on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Worth noting is that the gazette was signed on July 11, 2023. The Kingdom of Eswatini is in the process of the 2023 General Elections. On July 22 and 23, 2023 communities across the country were nominating possible candidates for the positions of Member of Parliament (MP), Indvuna Yenkhundla and Bucopho.
On August 26, the country will conduct primary elections where possible candidates for MP and Indvuna Yenkhundla will come from the over 330 royal kraals in Eswatini.
Seven Cabinet Ministers were nominated in their respective royal kraals and have passed the vetting process conducted by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC). This means the seven Cabinet ministers are possible candidates for MP positions in the 12th Parliament.
According to EBC’s elections calendar, the official campaigning period is slated to start from August 27 to September 27, 2023, a day after the primary elections.
The secondary elections, on the other hand, will be held on September 29, 2023. This means the seven Cabinet ministers will remain in office almost throughout the campaigning period. According to the legal notice, their last day is September 25, 2023, four days before the secondary elections.
