BY DELISA THWALA
EZULWINI– The interest in registering for elections has been proceeding well in places like Ezulwini, Lobamba and Mbabane.
This publication during the weekend noted and observed that more and more places came out to vote over the the weekend, these numbers comprised of the Youth, women and other members of the public.
Lobamba Indvuna Mabhadane Bhembe said he was happy with the turnout over the weekend. He said the numbers spoke volumes.
“I think during the week people were held up by work engagements and the weekend allowed them free time. What I saw in Ezulwini over the weekend was quite impressive despite the gloomy weather,” said Bhembe.
Some of the registering members of the public said they were happy to have registering members of the public said they were happy and were looking forward to voting.
“We want to be responsible for the person we put in parliament and know that we voted for change. People tend to forget that voting is well within our rights,” said Msebenzi Khumalo.
Other places that were abuzz with registration activity during the weekend were Mbabane, where registering points were placed all over town.
Meanwhile the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) confirmed that 36 527 people had registered by yesterday.
The figures were confirmed by EBC Communications Officer Mbonisi Bhembe. Registration for the elections started on May 10, 2023 and is expected to run until June 14 this year, which is a period of five weeks.
Worth noting is that yesterday was day five of the registration. It is worth mentioning that registration happens every day; even on weekends, in the different registration stations across the country.
Meanwhile, EBC expects at least 650 000 emaSwati to register for the 2023 national elections.
In the 2018 national elections, a total of 547 426 people registered for the elections, while 414 704 registered in 2013.
Bhembe stated that the figures were informed by data they received from the National Statistics Department, under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
It was also said that there were over 1 200 officials, who were hired to conduct registration.
Bhembe said this was to ensure that the registration is not affected by the communication network; Bhembe said network providers were engaged to ensure full network coverage.
“We engaged Eswatini MTN, Eswatini Mobile and Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation to ensure that there were no network glitches,” he said.
