Election ‘rigging’ claims ahead of PUDEMO congress

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M– PUDEMO’s tightly contested elections of its executive committee have been marred by attempts to manipulate the results, illegal campaigning and intimidation.

The elections are scheduled for the last week of November, at a date and venue yet to be confirmed, as they are an integral part of the general congress held every after four years. The actions have been labelled as an attempt at rigging by some concerned members. Wikipedia describes rigging as ‘illegal interference with the process of an election’.

As members gear for the congress, the party has ashamedly witnessed a historic flagrant disregard of known procedure by some members who want to promote own lists of candidates in a manner that violated the PUDEMO code of conduct. At worst, the current leadership structure has said it contemplates calling wayward members to order as their conduct could undermine the elections.

Aggrieved members of PUDEMO have also voiced concerns on social media resenting the throwing around of names of candidates prematurely.

One complained bitterly that his branch called a meeting as late at 11pm in a move to lobby for certain candidates, while other members were subsequently left out of the processes. A member of PUDEMO who asked to speak anonymously said he had no ambition to stand for office but detested the manner at which intense campaigning had started. “I foresee factionalism as some people are campaigning vigorously for leaders such as Mlungisi (President) and Mandla Hlatshwako in a way that will split the party,” said the member.

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He made an example of the African National Congress (ANC), which was once torn between potential leaders until other members broke away to form own parties. “The leadership should call these campaigns to order before they get out of hand,” he said.

PUDEMO, which is the People’s United Democratic Movement, is one of the oldest opposition parties calling for democratic reforms in the country. However, it was proscribed as a terrorist entity in 2008 together with its youth wing - the Swaziland Youth

Congress (SWAYOCO), its sister organisation the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) as well as Umbane.

One member remarked on Facebook: “Leading the movement doesn’t mean one must be president … Masuku also needed them in the collective NEC or its standing commissions. But they never availed themselves. Now, the movement must be held at ransom by those who take a leave and come back only when it suits them? No!”

PUDEMO Secretary General (SG) Wandile Dludlu said he had personally witnessed how some members had formed lists of potential candidates and were using social media to publicise names. He said the party promoted lobbying before an election, but not to practise such in an unfair and unauthorised manner. “We do not even have an Independent Electoral Committee as yet because we believe the nomination of candidates is being dealt with at branches level,” he said.

Dludlu said the party was also not accustomed to the habit of self campaigning for office but rather that candidates should be supported by their branches.

“We have had elections every four years, but we have not come to the point where people start saying ‘vote for me’. Rather, the intense lobbying must be at the branches and the members must then agree on the names to be carried to the congress as candidates,” he said.

Dludlu said the party had not yet had a social media policy, but would come up with one soon to guide members on how to use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc. “Using Facebook and publishing names of candidates well before the congress is a new culture to us and we still need to guide each other. At times it could even expose some of the names to the enemy and then members could get sabotaged.”

Branches

He said notwithstanding the unusual occurrences, contestation was allowed in PUDEMO, leading to the elections. “For example we can have two branches submitting different names for the position of Deputy SG. We then say the ballot box will resolve the issue,” he said.

Dludlu said some of the contestation could be mistaken for a rift or crack in leadership yet such is not true. “We allow people to contest for positions in a fair manner. If one wants