The Swaziland United Democratic Front is a

coalition A coalition is 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, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

interests including

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

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

Manzini Manzini (formerly Bremersdorp) is a large city in Eswatini, which is also the city of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind the capital Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known ...

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

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

People's United Democratic Movement The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO; ) 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. The absolute monarchy of Mswat ...

(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 (SNUS) (tertiary institutions) * Swaziland Association of Students (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 structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

and poverty eradication, 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. In the EU context, the Euro ...

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

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

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, former secretary-general

Notes and references

External links

* {{Official website
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

Mission of the SUDF

Key people

See also

Notes and references

External links