Swaziland is a monarchy, with all legislative and executive power vested in the king. Check cancermatters for political system of Swaziland. The Constitution of 1978 is in force. Administratively, it is divided into 4 districts (Khoho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni). Major cities: Mbabane, Manzini.
The head of state, legislative and executive power is the king. Parliament is an advisory body, it does not accept, but only discusses bills submitted by the government; consists of the House of Assembly and the Senate. The House of Assembly consists of 65 deputies, 55 of them are elected by the population in a complex two-stage system that ensures that only the leaders or their representatives are nominated as candidates, and 10 are appointed by the king. The Senate consists of 30 members, 10 of whom are elected by the House of Assembly and 20 are appointed by the King. The term of office of Parliament is 5 years. The chief executive is the king, who appoints the government headed by the prime minister. In fact, state decisions are made by the king after discussion in two traditional Swazi institutions – the Libandle (National Council), consisting of court nobility, and Likoko (a narrow circle of members of the royal family). The head of state is King Mswati III. Speaker of the House of Assembly – S. Matsebula. The Prime Minister is S. B. Dlamini.
An outstanding statesman is King Sobhuza II (1899-1982). In the early years of his reign, he supported anti-colonial organizations in his country and South Africa. His merit was the resistance to the attempts of the authorities of the Union of South Africa (now South Africa) to annex Swaziland, as well as the creation of a fund to buy Swazi lands from white settlers. In recent years, he pursued a policy aimed at preserving the traditional social structure.
Political parties operate illegally. The most active of them are: People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Ngwane National Liberation Congress, Progressive Party of Swaziland.
Leading business organizations: Swaziland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Stock Exchange, Swaziland Central Cooperative Union.
Public organizations: two trade union associations – the Federation of Labor of Swaziland and the Federation of Trade Unions of Swaziland, the Association of Human Rights of Swaziland, the Youth Congress of Swaziland.
Domestic policy with con. 1999 is characterized by tougher legislation and repression against the opposition. Laws have been passed to restrict the right to strike, done away with the independence of judges, censorship of the press has been effectively introduced, journalists have been arrested and newspapers have been shut down.
Foreign policy is primarily aimed at maintaining good relations with South Africa and Mozambique, but there are frictions with these states due to respect for human rights and because of Mozambican refugees.
Military establishment. Army strength approx. 3 thousand, spending on the army (2002) 20 million US dollars.
Swaziland has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, established in 1999.
Science and culture of Swaziland
Primary schools are attended by 98% of children. Scientific research is carried out at the University of Swaziland, at three experimental stations (crop production, animal husbandry, forestry), in the Department of Geology. Manzini has a National Library and Lobamba has a National Museum.
