At stake in this election:

• 65 seats in the House of Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King MSWATI III
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI
• Assembly: Swaziland has a bicameral Parliament (Libandla) consisting of the Senate with 30 seats and the House of Assembly with 65 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary N/A.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the Senate 30 members are appointed to serve 5-year terms*. In the House of Assembly, 10 members are appointed to serve 4-year terms and 55 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.**

* In the Senate, 10 members are appointed by House of Assembly and 20 members are appointed by the monarch, all to serve 5-year terms.

** In House of Assembly, 10 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms and 55 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: N/A: Political party activity in Swaziland has been formally banned by royal decree since 1973.
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Assembly election: N/A

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on October 11, 1993.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,031,600 (July 1997 est.)
• Registered Voters: 200,000 ( approx.)