The Swaziland United Democratic Front is a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

interests including

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

, unions and churches. The Swaziland United Democratic Front was formed on 2 February 2008 at the Tum's George Hotel in

Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, attended by 120 persons from various organizations but mainly from the following: *

People's United Democratic Movement The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO; ss, Insika Yenkhululeko Yemaswati) is the largest opposition party in Eswatini. It is a democratic socialist party. Formed in 1983 at the University of Eswatini, it is led by Mlungisi Makhanya. ...

(PUDEMO) *

Ngwane National Liberatory Congress The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) is a political party in Eswatini. It was founded on 12 April 1963 as a breakaway party from the Swaziland Progressive Party (SPP) led by Dr. J. J. Nquku. History It was launched on 24 February ...

(NNLC) * Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) * Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) * Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) *

Swaziland National Union of Students The Swaziland National Union of Students is a membership-based organisation of students in all higher institutions of learning in Swaziland. It seeks to create a student movement and geared to confront the socio economic and political challenges o ...

(SNUS) (tertiary institutions) *

Swaziland Association of Students Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(SAS) (primary and high schools) * Swaziland National Ex-Mineworkers Association (SNEMA) * Coalition of Informal Economy Association of Swaziland The numbers made up by the individual members of all these organizations is about 100 000.

Mission of the SUDF

The founding of the SUDF was the result of a growing conviction that in order to create a strong

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...

and

poverty eradication Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics cl ...

, there would have to be more unity and coordination among the civil society organisations of Swaziland. The formation of the SUDF is a concerted attempt of these organisations to increase the space for democratic participation for and by the socio-economically and politically

marginalized Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

people of

. The existing space for protest action is currently limited to the unions, who have secured themselves this space through the Industrial Act. Since the unions are member organisations of the SUDF, the SUDF is therefore in a strong position to expand the space for this type of action. In 2009, 5000 members of the SUDF agreed on the

Manzini Declaration Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...

. The Manzini Declaration constitutes a mission statement, which affirms the SUDFs commitment to

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and sets out its views on a number of substantive issues in relation to the basic rights of people in Swaziland and the social and political development in the country.

Key people

Vincent Ncongwane Vincent Ncongwane (1962-2021) was born on 19 April 1962 in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that str ...

, former secretary-general

Notes and references

External links

* {{Official website, http://sudfinfo.wordpress.com/
Short film about SUDFArticle about SUDFInterview with SUDF Project Coordinator Sikelela Dlamini
Political organisations based in Eswatini Organizations established in 2008 2008 establishments in Swaziland