A coalition of churches, labour movements and opposition parties called the National Constituent Assembly filed an application in Mbabane High Court to obtain an order forcing the Constitutional Draft Commission to allow group submissions at public hearings.

Lawyer Mandla Mkhwanazi said the court had agreed to hear the application in August, although no firm date was set.

"My clients want this matter to be decided by the courts so that the final product represents the views of every Swazi," he said.

Mkhwanazi said the groups he represented included the main opposition People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) and the Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL).

The three groups say they represent 75000 people in Swaziland, which has a population of 1,2 million.

Swaziland is Africa's last absolute monarchy. King Mswati III rules the country by decree and political meetings are banned, but pro-democracy protests in 1996 forced the monarch to announce that a new constitution would be drafted.

The process started in 1996 and is still under way. The Constitutional Draft Commission is currently holding public hearings on a draft constitution, which would still ban political activity.

King Mswati recently said the final draft would be completed by the end of June and would then be adopted by parliament.

But the National Constituent Assembly said in a court affidavit the draft constitution under discussion did not reflect the true views of Swazi people. - Sapa-AFP