Times Of Swaziland: MADADENI FOLK TO BOYCOTT ELECTIONS IF...

MADADENI FOLK TO BOYCOTT ELECTIONS IF...
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BY SITHEMBILE HLATSHWAYO on 30/04/2018 00:28:00


KASHOBA – Yet another community has threatened to boycott the national
elections this year unless the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC)
resolves their issues.
Elders of the tiny community of Madadeni near Mpolonjeni in Siteki, which
comprises a total of 147 homesteads, publicly announced on Saturday that they
had resolved to boycott the elections slated for later this year.
The community is unhappy with an announcement made by the EBC last week whereby
the elections body pronounced that residents of Madadeni would vote under
KaShoba Chiefdom.
Madadeni community shares boundaries with KaShoba and Ngcina Chiefdoms, but it
does not recognise either of the two and, instead, it pays allegiance to
KaMkhweli Royal Kraal, which is about 30 kilometres away.
This is despite that traditional authorities of KaMkhweli Royal Kraal have
publicly stated that although the community of Madadeni was originally under
KaMkhweli Chiefdom, it has now been incorporated into KaShoba.
However, elders of Madadeni are adamant that they would not be incorporated into
KaShoba because they believe that they are also a chiefdom on their own right.
They have also criticised the EBC for publicly announcing that the community of
Madadeni would now vote under KaShoba without having consulted them.
Madadeni residents have voted under different chiefdoms ever since the current
election system was introduced in 1993 and in the last elections in 2013, they
voted under Ngcina Chiefdom.