Government

Government#

absolute monarchy

System

absolute monarchy

Capital

Mbabane (administrative capital); Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)

Head of state

King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)

Head of government

Prime Minister Russell DLAMINI (since 6 November 2023)

Legislature

legislature name: Parliament (Libandla); legislative structure: bicameral

Judiciary

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 4 justices) and the High Court (consists of the chief justice ex officio and 4 justices); judge selection and term of office: justices of the Supreme Court and High Court appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a judicial advisory body consisting of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, 4 members appointed by the monarch, and the chairman of the Civil Service Commission; justices of both courts eligible for retirement at age 65 with mandatory retirement at age 75; subordinate courts: magistrates’ courts; National Swazi Courts for administering customary/traditional laws (jurisdiction restricted to customary law for Swazi citizens)

Constitution

history: previous 1968, 1978; latest signed by the king 26 July 2005, effective 8 February 2006; amendment process: proposed at a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament; passage requires majority vote by both houses and/or majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of amendments affecting “specially entrenched” constitutional provisions requires at least three-fourths majority vote by both houses, passage by simple majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of “entrenched” provisions requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses, passage in a referendum, and assent of the king

Independence

6 September 1968 (from the UK)

Administrative divisions

4 regions; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni

Departments#

TODO. Ministries and authoritative sites, to be filled out.

Hierarchy#

How power is wired. The diagram below carries the generic template; refine the boxes and edges to match the current regime.

        flowchart TD
  HoS["Head of State"]
  HoG["Head of Government"]
  Leg["Legislature"]
  Jud["Judiciary"]
  Cab["Cabinet"]
  Foreign["Foreign Affairs"]
  Interior["Interior"]
  Defense["Defense"]
  Finance["Finance"]
  Justice["Justice"]

  HoS --> HoG
  HoG --> Cab
  Cab --> Foreign
  Cab --> Interior
  Cab --> Defense
  Cab --> Finance
  Cab --> Justice
  HoS -.- Leg
  HoS -.- Jud

Resources#

Public-facing portals the people use day to day. Operators monitor these for policy changes, official notices, and civil-registry data.

Resource

Site

Purpose

National portal

to be filled

One-stop government services for citizens.

Tax / revenue

to be filled

Income tax, VAT, customs.

Civil registry

to be filled

Births, deaths, marriages, national ID.

Immigration

to be filled

Visas, residency, naturalisation.

Health

to be filled

Public health, advisories, vaccination records.

Education

to be filled

Curricula, school directories, transcripts.

Statistics

to be filled

Census, economic indicators, opendata.

Police / emergency

to be filled

Reporting, missing persons, emergency contacts.
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