BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
LOBAMBA – Women led the way today in Parliament.
This came after Fezeka Nothando Dlamini was elected as the first senator in the 12th Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Dlamini was elected as the first of 10 senators who are elected by the Members of Parliament in the House of Assembly. The process is such that each MP votes for five individuals, in descending order of preference. If 12 MP’s vote for one candidate as their number one option, that candidate automatically becomes a senator.
Dlamini Fezeka had 14 of the 69 MP’s vote for her as their first preference candidate, making her the first senator in the 12th Parliament to be confirmed, as she crossed the milestone of 12 votes early in the counting.
Nxumalo Lorraine was the second person to be confirmed as a Senator, after amassing 12 votes in the second round of counting, which takes into account the second to fifth preferences which were voted for by the MP’s.
Other leading candidates who are still in the race include Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane, and Linda Nxumalo.
The elections will conclude with 10 newly elected senators by the end of the day.
