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| Population |
1,370,424 (est2011) |
| Seat of Parliament |
Lobamba |
| Date of Independence |
Jan 1 1968 |
| Constitution |
Executive Monarchy |
| CPA Branch Formed |
Jan 1 1965 |
| Voting Age |
18 |
| First Parliament |
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| Local Information |
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| Branch Profile |
Current constitution:
2005. A draft constitution which would provide equality for women but would still not allow the formation of political parties was approved by the parliament in June 2005. It was signed by the king on 26 July, but only after it was significantly amended.
Head of state and Executive:
The head of state is the king. The present incumbent, Mswati III, came to the throne in April 1986.
The head of government is the prime minister who is appointed by the king. The king also appoints the cabinet, in consultation with the prime minister.
Legislature:
The legislature, the Parliament (Libandla), is bicameral. The lower chamber, the House of Assembly, has 65 members (55 directly elected, ten appointed by the king), with a provision for a maximum of 4 women members to be elected regionally if the total percentage of women is otherwise less than 30 per cent. All members are elected for a five-year term. The upper chamber, the Senate, has 30 members (ten elected by the House of Assembly, 20 appointed by the king), also serving for a five-year term.
Principal parties:
None: political parties are banned.
Most recent elections:
Legislative: 20 September and 5 October 2013 (House of Assembly, elected and appointed members respectively). 23 and 30 October 2013 (Senate, indirectly elected and appointed members respectively).
Composition of government:
The king named Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini as prime minister on 16 October 2008 after the legislative elections. His new cabinet was appointed on 24 October. Parliament passed a motion of no confidence in the government on 3 October 2012, in a dispute over the country's sole telephone services provider. However Dlamini and his cabinet refused to step down, and the motion was withdrawn on 15 October. Four days before the 2013 legislative elections, the whole cabinet resigned on 16 September. Dlamini's term was extended temporarily to 4 October. After this date no further announcements were forthcoming until finally on 28 October the king reappointed him as prime minister. The cabinet, with over half new appointees, was announced and sworn in on 4 November.
Source: www.peopleinpower.com |
| Website |
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Chamber 1 |
| Chamber |
House of Assembly |
| No of Seats |
65 |
| No of Women |
9 |
| Date of Last Election |
05 Oct 2013 |
| Term |
5 years |
| No of Parties |
0 |
Chamber 2 |
| Chamber |
Senate |
| No of Seats |
30 |
| No of Women |
12 |
| Date of Last Election |
10 Oct 2008 |
| Term |
5 years |
| No of Parties |
0 |
Committees |
| Number of Departmental/Ministry Oversight Committees: |
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| Number of Joint Committees (if bicameral): |
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| Names of House Management (such as Privileges or Procedure) Committees: |
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Reports |
| Are reports or recommendations from committees debated in the Chamber: |
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| Must Ministers provide substantive responses to committee reports/recommendations and, if so, what is the time limit for providing responses? |
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Budgets |
| Does Parliament or a committee have formal input into the formulation of the budget? |
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| What is the normal time between the presentation of the budget to Members and its passage by Parliament? |
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Committee staffing |
| How much Chamber and committee time is normally spent in scrutinizing the budget prior to passage? |
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| Number of Clerks to service committees: |
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| Do committees have access to subject specialist researchers from parliamentary staff? |
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| Do committees have access to funds to hire external subject specialist advisors? |
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