Registration officers

(1) The Commission shall appoint certain persons to be registration officers, as the Commission may deem necessary to assist it in the discharge of its functions under this Act [Registration Act].

(2)     The Commission shall appoint persons to be supervisors of registration as the Commission may deem necessary to assist it in the discharge of its functions under this Act [Registration Act].

(3)     The persons appointed as registration officers under subsections (1) and (2) shall be subject to the general or special directions of the Commission and shall exercise any or all of the duties and powers conferred upon the Commission by this Act [Registration Act].

(4)     For each Registration Centre, the Commission shall appoint a registration officer;

(5)     The supervisor for registration shall be responsible for the supervision of the registration process and may be assigned to handle more than one Inkhundla.

(6)     The supervisor of registration shall from time to time submit reports to the Commission on the performance of the duties of that supervisor.

(7)     When carrying out their functions under this Act [Registration Act], the officers appointed under this section shall be paid such allowances as the Ministry responsible for public service may, in consultation with the Ministry responsible for finance, determine.

Assistant registration officers

1) The Commission may appoint one or more assistant registration officers to assist a registration officer.

(2) An assistant registration officer shall have all the powers and duties of the registration officer whom the assistant registration officer is appointed to assist.

(3) A registration officer may delegate some of the duties and powers of a registration officer to an assistant registration officer.

Voters register

The Commission shall, in such manner and at times that may be prescribed, prepare or cause to be prepared−

• a register of voters for each Inkhundla which shall include the names of all persons entitled to vote in that Inkhundla; and
• a National Voters Register, which shall be a combination of the Tinkhundla voter registers.

Publish a notice in the Gazette

(1) The Commission shall publish a notice in the Gazette calling upon every person qualified to be registered as a voter to apply for registration to the registration officer of the Inkhundla in which that person is entitled to be registered, on or before a date to be specified in such notice.

(2) The Commission shall arrange for the further publication of the notice referred to in subsection (2) in a manner that the Commission thinks necessary and shall publish the dates, times and places of public meetings at which persons qualified to be registered may attend.

(3) Following the notice published by the Commission under this section, each Chief or rightful authority of urban or industrial areas shall call a meeting of persons under their jurisdiction for the purpose of registration as voters.

(4) As from a date fixed by the Commission by notice in the Gazette, the Inkhundla register so prepared and amended from time to time in accordance with the Registration act shall be the Inkhundla register for the respective Inkhundla.

Registration of Swaziland citizens abroad

(1) A person who is a citizen of Swaziland resident outside Swaziland is entitled to be registered as a voter, if it is feasible, if the person satisfies the requirements for registration prescribed under the Registration Act.

(2) The Commission may, in consultation with the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs, appoint the Head of a Swaziland Mission or Embassy abroad or any other person or institution designated in writing by the Commission as a registration officer to register a person mentioned in subsection (1) [Registration Act] as a voter.

(3) The Commission may give such directions as it considers appropriate to a person appointed as a registration officer under subsection (2) [Registration Act] 

Times for registration and revision of voters registers.

The Commission by notice published in the Gazette will announce the times for the registration of voters and the revision of registers of voters.

Compilation of National Voters Register

(1) The Commission shall, after completion of the general registration of voters contemplated in section 12 [Registration Act] , and the preparation of Tinkhundla voter registers by registration officers, compile a National Voters Register.

(2)     The Commission may prescribe cut-off dates in respect of the compilation of the National Voters Register, including the date by which−

• any person who wants to be included in the voters register must have applied for registration as a voter in terms of section 13 [Registration Act] or for the change of registration details in terms of section 20;
• any objections in terms of section 18 shall be made; and
• the Commission shall complete the compilation of the National Voters Register.

(3)     The National Voters Register shall be compiled by merging all the Inkhundla voter registers and shall be in a form prescribed by the Commission.

(4)     During the compilation of the National Voters Register, the Commission shall cause the several Tinkhundla voters registers to be compared for the purpose of ensuring that no person is registered in more than one Inkhundla.

(5)     If, after due inquiry, the Commission is satisfied that a person is registered more than once in the same Inkhundla or in more than one Inkhundla, the Commission shall remove the name of the person from every register in which the name should not appear.

(6)     Section 27(4) and (5) [Registration Act] shall apply in connection with the removal of a name under subsection (5) [Registration Act] .

(7)     The Commission shall, upon completion of the compilation of the National Voters Register, cause to be transmitted to every registration officer, a copy of the part of that register relating to the Inkhundla for which the officer is responsible and the officer shall keep the copy in safe custody.

(8)     The original of the National Voters Register shall be kept at the offices of the Commission.

It is the Commission’s duty to ensure that in every election, all Swazi citizens  understand their rights and our political and electoral  system.

Civic education entails the democratic system of government, good governance, effective leadership and development. It provides awareness on the environment in which the elections take place, the value of democracy, the value of fundamental human rights in a democracy, and the relationship of elections, democracy and development.

Voter education is meant to promote awareness and understanding of voter rights, electoral systems and processes. It deals with pertinent electoral concerns such as the legal basis underpinning the electoral process including the Constitution and relevant acts and the provisions for citizens’ involvement in the electoral processes. It further puts forward desirable values and qualities of elected leaders.

Report on elections

(1) The Commission shall, as soon as practicable after every election, produce and submit a report on that election to the Minister in terms of section 92 (1) of the Constitution.

(2) Where necessary, the Commission shall produce and submit a supplementary report.

(3)  The report shall also state whether any election observers (and if so, how many) covered the elections and the report or reports the observers made on the elections.

(4) The report under this section shall be tabled before Parliament for information only so soon after it has been submitted as may be practicable.

Contents of report on elections

The report of the Commission under section 16 shall contain among other things, the following information−

• the general conduct of the elections and the number of voters who participated;
• any irregularities observed and how the Commission dealt with the irregularities;
• whether any nomination or election was disputed and with what result;
• any observed or remarkable peculiarities; and,
• recommendations, if any.