The national elections have started in Swaziland amid chaos. As it sets out to register voters, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is unsure how many people are eligible to vote in the kingdom and has almost certainly under estimated the number substantially.
The month of May has been dominated by the election as people trying to register have been turned away: the EBC blamed malfunctioning computers. The campaign to boycott the election because political parties are banned and the parliament that is selected is a stooge for King Mswati III is gaining momentum.
Sitting ministers have been found out bribing would-be voters with food and other goods. So many Swazi people are so poor they are unable to eat and some have admitted they would willingly sell their vote to the person who feeds them. Meanwhile, a scandal is emerging about food donated to feed the hungry by the international community deliberately being left by the government to rot - allegedly as punishment for an attempt to pass a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister last year.
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