GENERAL ASSEMBLY REJECTS EFA ELECTORAL CODE

EZULWINI – The independence of the upcoming elections remains threatened.

This follows a rejection of the newly-established Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Electoral Code by delegates at the EFA’s extra-ordinary general meeting yesterday at the Happy Valley Hotel. For the first time in history, the football mother body executive committee led by Acting President Dr Comfort Shongwe will conduct the association’s elections on June 27 overseen by an independent body. The newly-established Ethics Committee/ Electoral Committee will conduct the elections under the guidance of the EFA Electoral Code, which was yesterday rejected by delegates.

agenda

The meeting’s initial agenda was to present the document and then officially unveil the Ethics Committee led by Senior Pigg’s Peak Magistrate Siphosini Dlamini. However, concerns were raised by delegates as EFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu was going through its provisions. There were two major concerns, the first being that delegates were not given the document to read through and scrutinise before its adoption yesterday and the second was that the document was not detailed on the operations of the Ethics Committee as well as the fact that despite claims that FIFA was engaged on its formulation, there was no proof to that effect.

Eswatini Football Coaches’ Association (EFCA) Secretary General Musa Mamba was among the first to highlight their dissatisfaction. “Let us reject the document, it is not specific. We are told FIFA made such a contribution but there are no FIFA correspondences attached to it,” said Mamba. This was after the Eswatini Referees’ Association (ERA) Chairman Sipho Kunene had mentioned that the EFA executive should have given them time to read through the document before it could be deliberated upon. The Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Executive Member Mashumi Shongwe added that the document was silent. “It does not state how the committee must operate and is not detailed on how elections are to be conducted for transparency,” said Shongwe.

PLE executive member Charles Matsebula moved a motion that the EFA executive be given seven days to go meet and consult with FIFA so that next Sunday the meeting continued with all concerns addressed. A another delegate felt giving a time frame to the EFA executive when they were still to consult with FIFA was putting them under pressure. However, the first motion was passed as 36 delegates voted for it to be passed against seven who voted for the second motion.

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