Votes are being counted in Eswatini amid concerns of low turnout in the parliamentary election held on Friday.
Polling stations started to close at around 7:00 pm local time (1700 GMT) and counting began in the southern African nation, where King Mswati III has ruled for 37 years.
After sunset, a handful of voters were still lining up to cast their ballots at a polling station in the capital, Mbabane.
More than 500,000 people were registered to vote. But less than a third of those registered at the Mbabane station showed up, according to poll manager Ldudusi Masilela.
"The elections are free and fair. Everyone is given the opportunity to cast their vote," he said.
Advisory role
Earlier in the day, some trickled into a modest school turned polling station near the lavish royal palace of Ludzidzini, about 25 kilometres (16 miles) from the capital.
"We need toilets in our homes and jobs," Sithembiso Bandal told AFP, after exiting the plastic booth.
"The king is kind and gives," said the 21-year-old, who nevertheless can't find work, like almost half of the population.
Voters were to choose 59 members of the lower house of parliament, which plays only an advisory role to King Mswati.
Formerly known as Swaziland, Eswatini was shaken in 2021 by pro-democracy protests that were violently quashed by security forces, with dozens of people killed.
Parties banned
But on Friday, there was no sign of turmoil. Street vendors quietly set up shop on the pavements outside polling stations as voters came and went.
The results, to be announced within a few days.
Political parties are banned in the landlocked country between South Africa and Mozambique and lawmakers cannot be affiliated with political groups.
The constitution emphasises "individual merit" as the basis for selecting MPs. While it allows for freedom of association, opposition groupings are often run from abroad.
Loyal to king
Most candidates are loyal to King Mswati.
He appoints the prime minister and the cabinet, can dissolve both parliament and the government, and commands police and the army.
Acts of parliament need his seal of approval to come into force.
King Mswati has been widely criticised for his lavish lifestyle while nearly a third of the country's 1.2 million people lives below the poverty line.
