General elections were held in

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 ...

on 19 September 2008 to elect the members of the House of Assembly. It was the first election under the new constitution introduced in 2006, and the first time that foreign observers were allowed to monitor an election in the country.Swazis vote in controversial poll
BBC News, 19 September 2008 It was observed by an Expert Team established by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the request of the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Swaziland. On the day before the election, several union officials were arrested for attempting to block the border with South Africa at

Oshoek Oshoek in Mpumalanga is the main border post between South Africa and Eswatini The N17 national road starts here. The area on the /Eswatini side of the border is known as Ngwenya, and the road (MR3 Road The MR3 road, also known as the Matsaph ...

for a pro-democracy protest.Police hold Swazi poll protesters
BBC News, 18 September 2008 Political parties remained banned in Swaziland, so all candidates for the 55 seats were independents. Following the election, King Mswati III was to appoint 10 more MPs. The National Assembly would then elect 10 members for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, with the King appointing 20 more.

References

Elections in Eswatini

Election Non-partisan elections {{africa-election-stub