SADC urges restraint as Lesotho heads for elections

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Oct 4, 2022

APA-Maseru The Southern African Development Community has called for all Lesotho stakeholders to exercise restraint as the kingdom heads for eagerly awaited parliamentary elections set for Friday. The SEOM, which has been in Lesotho since September 25, has been deployed to the 10 districts of Lesotho. Members of the mission are drawn from Angola, Botswana,…

APA-Maseru (Lesotho) The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called for all Lesotho stakeholders to exercise restraint as the kingdom heads for eagerly awaited parliamentary elections set for Friday.

Speaking during the launch of a 63-member SADC Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) in Maseru on Monday, Namibia’s Defence Minister Frans Kapofi said all registered Basotho voters should be allowed to “exercise their civic and political rights.”

“We encourage all stakeholders to ensure that these elections are conducted in a peaceful, free, fair, transparent and credible manner,” said Kapofi who is leading the SADC observer team.

He said the regional bloc looked forward to an electoral process that adheres to standard democratic values and principles.

The SEOM, which has been in Lesotho since September 25, has been deployed to the 10 districts of Lesotho.

Members of the mission are drawn from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Lesotho has experienced political instability since independence in 1966 and had three elections between 2012 and 2017.

The All Basotho Convention has run the country since 2017 but the party has been rocked by divisions, resulting in it having two prime ministers over the past five years.

JN/APA