Eswatini

House of AssemblySenate

House of Assembly

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Monarchy
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Data on women

empty

Basic information > About parliament

Speaker

Speaker
Petros Mavimbela (Male)
Year of birth
1963
See historical data for this field.

Secretary general

Secretary General
Benedict Xaba (Male)
Secretary General
Raymond Mkhonta (Male)

Members

Current number of members, by sex
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
66
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Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
7
See historical data for this field.
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
9.59% See historical data for this field.

Age

Average age of all members
Click for historical data
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Youngest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
34
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Youngest member
Phila Wiseman Buthelezi (Male)
Oldest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
76
Oldest member
Barnabas Dlamini Prime Minister (Male)

Reserved seats and quotas

Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
4
Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
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Notes
The Constitution requires that women should constitute 30% of the Parliament (Constitution 2005, Art. 95, para. 1c). At least half of the nominated members appointed by the King must be female (Constitution 2005, Art. 95, para. 2a). ‘Where at the first meeting of the House after any general election it appears that female members of Parliament will not constitute at least thirty per cent of the total membership of Parliament, then, and only then, the provisions of this section shall apply. […] For the purposes of this section, the House shall form itself into an electoral college and elect not more than four women on a regional basis to the House in accordance with the provisions of section 95(3).’ (Constitution 2005, Art. 86, para. 1, 2)
Elections > Election results

Candidates

Total number of candidates Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".
336
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
51
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
15.18%
Number of candidates, by sex
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
51
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
15.18%

Results

Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
57
Number of women elected
2
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
3.39%
Note on the Distribution of seats according to sex
The 2005 Constitution requires that women constitute 30 per cent of the total membership of Parliament. Following the 2018 elections, the House of Assembly comprised a total of 70 members of whom 5 were women and the Senate comprised 30 members including 7 women. Thus, there was a total of 12 women out of 100 members (or 12% of women altogether).

The 2005 Constitution stipulates that the House of Assembly elect one woman from each of the four regions of the country in case the number of women is less than 30 per cent of the total membership of Parliament (the House of Assembly and the Senate).

In accordance with the Election of Women to the House of Assembly Act (Act No.09 of 2018), the House of Assembly elected the four additional women on 22 November 2018. They were sworn in on 26 November, bringing the total number of House members to 74, of whom 9 were women. The four women elected by the House of Assembly have the same status as other House members.

As at 1 January 2020, the House of Assembly comprised 7 women out of 73 members while the Senate comprised 12 women out of 30 senators. (Parliament, 31.03.2020, 20.04.2020)
Number of women after election or renewal, by mode of designation
Women Directly Elected
2
Women Appointed
3

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
64
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
5
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
Petros Mavimbela (Male)
Date of election
11.10.2018
Elections > Historical data on women

Women's suffrage

Date of independence For countries that become independent after 1940
1968
Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1968
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1968
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
1972
Notes
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
2006