CANDIDATE’S WITHDRAWAL LETTER REJECTED BY EBC

SITEKI – If you were nominated for the elections and you’re thinking of pulling out of the race now; forget it!

A nominee was disappointed yesterday when his withdrawal letter was rejected by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
He had taken advantage of the EBC’s sensitisation exercise for nominees under Lubombo, which was held in Siteki yesterday afternoon.
The nominee, whose name was not immediately ascertained, approached EBC Commissioner Ncumbi Maziya on the sidelines of the event, and handed him a letter of withdrawing his candidacy.

However, Maziya rejected the letter and informed the candidate that it was now too late to pull out of the race.
Later, in his official address, Maziya told all the nominees that there was no way they could withdraw from the elections since their particulars had already been processed and would now appear on the ballot paper.

“There is no turning back now; the ballot papers have been printed,” said Maziya when addressing the nominees.
He shared with them how the nominee had approached him before the start of the event and requested to withdraw his candidacy.
“I rejected his letter and told him that his face will appear on the ballot paper,” said Maziya.

In an interview after the event, Maziya said it was not clear why the nominee wanted to withdraw.
He speculated that perhaps the nominee had failed to comply with the requirement of filing his tax returns with the elections body.

“We have advised nominees who owe tax to engage Masilela (Swaziland Revenue Authority Commissioner General) and see what agreement they can reach. We have printed the ballot papers now, so nominees can’t withdraw from the elections,” stated Maziya.
Meanwhile, during the event, EBC officials took time explaining to nominees the stages of the entire elections process and the expected conduct of nominees on elections day.
Elections Officer Mlamuli Shabangu, urged nominees to arrive early on the elections day, so that they could be able to inspect the ballot boxes and confirm that there were no ballot papers inside.
He added that even after polling stations had been closed, nominees should not leave before ensuring that all ballot boxes had been sealed.
“In the event a chiefdom has many polling stations and some ballot boxes are transported to a counting station, do not lose sight of the ballot boxes. Leave your car and ride on the one that would be transporting the ballot boxes,” he said, provoking laughter from the close to 1 000 nominees who had crammed the small hall where the event was held.

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