Swaziland held primary elections at the weekend to choose individuals from more than 300 chiefdoms who will vie for 60 House of Assembly seats in parliamentary elections next month.

Chief electoral officer Robert Thwala said yesterday the elections had proceeded relatively smoothly, but that ballot papers ran out at some polling stations Saturday, and that these had to be reopened yesterday morning.

"My office is happy with the way things went in the different parts of the kingdom.... All in all, things at most stations went well," Thwala said.

The tiny country, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, is ruled by Africa's last absolute monarch and has no official opposition.

Primary elections in Swaziland are contested on an individual basis in more than 300 chiefdoms around the country.

After being elected there, representatives then stand in the general elections - to be held next month - where they vie for the 60 seats in the House of Assembly.

King Mswati III appoints ten other members to the House to make a total of 70 representatives.

The House of Assembly then appoints ten members to Swaziland's executive council, the Senate, while the king appoints 20 other senators.

But while the Senate is the country's executive arm, the last word lies with Mswati, who has a wide range of powers and rules the country by decree.

Mswati dissolved his council of ministers Friday evening ahead of Saturday's elections, to allow them to freely participate in the primary elections.

According to the government gazette, he dissolved the council to "fully exercise their constitutional right to participate in the election process without undue advantage or suffer disadvantage".

King Mswati's monarchy is hereditary, and he commands the military, police and prison services.

The king is also in charge of appointing members of the judiciary, including magistrates and judges, and has the powers to remove any officer at any given time.

He is immune from taxation in his private capacity and cannot be sued either in criminal or civil cases.

Nor may he be summoned to appear as in court as witness.

Mario Masuku, president of Swaziland's banned opposition, the People's United Democratic Movement, said Friday his party did not support the primary elections.

"As long as we have the king's decree (banning political parties), no free and fair elections will be held in this country," he said. – Sapa-AFP.