King Mswati III misled his subjects when he told them this year's national election was an opportunity for them to shape the kingdom's future.
King Mswati, who rules as sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, said in a speech at the opening of the Swazi Parliament on Friday (15 February 2013), 'Elections are a vital tool through which citizens exercise the right to be heard and freely choose their own representatives in the government of the country.'
In fact, the people of Swaziland do not get a chance to elect a government because all political parties are banned. The present Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini was not elected by the people, but directly appointed by the king.
This was also the case with all the previous prime ministers of Swaziland since 1973 when the king's father Sobhuza II abolished the parliament that was in place since independence in 1968 and began to rule by decree.
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