… As per the Constitution.
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
LOBAMBA – The newly elected Speaker in the Parliament House of Assembly, Jabulani Mabuza, and his Deputy Madala Mhlanga, will soon meet with His Majesty King Mswati III.
Mabuza and Mhlanaga were respectively elected Speaker and Deputy in the House of Assembly today, following the official swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected and appointed Members of Parliament.
The audience with His Majesty the King, the head of State of the Kingdom of Eswatini, is stipulated in the Standing Orders, which are governed by the Constitution.
“The Speaker and deputy Speaker, accompanied by the proposer of the Speaker and three (3) other Members of the House nominated by the clerk shall, as soon as practicable after the declaration of the results, present themselves to His Majesty the King for royal approbation and, on returning to the House, shall report such presentation,” states the Standing Orders on the royal approbation.
Section 16 of the Standing Orders stipulates that the House shall constitute itself into an electoral college and proceed to elect senators in accordance with the Senate (Elections) Act No.7 of 2013, after the royal approbation by the Speaker and deputy Speaker.
Following the election of senators by the House of Assembly, Section 94 (3) of the standing orders states that the King shall then appoint 20 senators – whereby at least eight of them should be female. Following this, the only remaining step to fulfil the composition of a full parliament will be to elect the country’s Prime Minister for the next five years.
It is highly anticipated that His Majesty King Mswati III will appoint the Premier in the upcoming Sibaya National Dialogue on the 21st of October.
