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SENATE ELECTIONS DEFERRED AS VETTING DELAYS

28/07/2020 06:45:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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LOBAMBA - How long does it take the police to vet three people? This was the question Members of Parliament (MPs) had yesterday after Senate elections failed to take place following communication from the national commissioner of police, who said they were still vetting the candidates.

What started as a day of great excitement ended in disappointment as the elections were postponed by the Speaker, Petros Mavimbela, to next Wednesday.
The elections were meant to replace the late Senator Mike Temple, who passed away over a year ago.
Five candidates were nominated by the House of Assembly last Thursday and they were Ngomuyayona Gamedze, Sifiso Mabuza, Jacques Potgieter, Bongani Matsebula and Jimmy Hlophe.

Withdrawn

However, the Senate Election Returning Officer, Ndvuna Dlamini, revealed that Gamedze had withdrawn his candidacy while Potgieter had been disqualified because he had allegedly not registered as a voter during the 2018 national elections.
This essentially means that the police had to carry out the vetting of three candidates, namely Matsebula, Mabuza and Hlophe.

However, at the start of yesterday’s sitting Dlamini, who is also Clerk to Parliament, informed the MPs that he had just returned from a very serious meeting which was a security brief with the police.
He said he had received a report from police and asked to read a letter purportedly from the National Commissioner of Police William Tsitsibala Dlamini.
The returning officer then proceed to read the letter to the Speaker and the MPs where the national commissioner mentioned that all were aware of the ongoing parliamentary process of elections to replace Temple.

Process

“As the Speaker is mindful of the fact that the police service also has a role to play in relation to the election process, specifically through the security vetting of nominated candidates,” the Clerk to Parliament read.
He stated that the national commissioner said due to the complex and involved nature of the exercise, the vetting had not yet been finalised.
“We anticipate that all being equal, the process should be exhausted before the end of business on Monday August 3, 2020.”

The police further said they trusted that the Speaker would be understanding of their position regarding the matter and for such a decision that it was appropriate in such circumstances for the Speaker’s anticipated cooperation.
Ndvuna said in terms of the Senate Elections Act of 2013 and the Constitution, his hands, as returning officer, were now tied and he could not proceed with the election after having received such a letter.
“I had asked them (police) what the challenge was and they said although they had started the process they found that there were some elements which they had to really dig deep into,” said Ndvuna.
He added that he could not go into the security details as it was not his domain, save to only address parliamentary processes.
“I was ready for the elections and even the ballot papers are here and all is in order,” said Ndvuna.

He said, however, due to the latest developments, he would seek guidance from the Speaker.
Speaker Mavimbela then said under the circumstances, it was only proper to adjourn the sitting until next Wednesday to allow the police to complete their duties.
According to the dictionary, vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award or doing fact-checking prior to making any decision.
In a recap of last Thursday’s sitting, the returning officer reminded the MPs that the Senate candidates needed not only police clearance, but also to be cleared by the Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA).
He stated that the candidate must be a liSwati and also registered for the national elections and not have lost in the very same election.

Prayers

Ndvuna said having done all the preliminaries, they needed the MPs’ prayers because conducting an election was not an easy task.
He said the law was very clear that someone who was elected into Senate should be a person with integrity.

Meanwhile, after the House was adjourned, most of the MPs were left wondering what was happening and why the police needed over a week to complete the task. “It is basically three people now in the race after one candidate was disqualified while the other withdrew his candidacy, so why would they need so much time for three nominees?” wondered an MP who spoke on condition of anonymity.