According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), more than one million Basotho are registered to vote in the elections. Voting stattions will close at 5pm.
Lesotho: Unemployment, the economy among voter’s concerns ahead Friday’s elections
The southern African country of 2.1 million people has more than 60 registered political parties but the election is expected to be a three-way contest.
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Basotho vote in tightly contested parliamentary elections
Thousands of Basotho voted on Friday in parliamentary elections seen as a three-horse race between the country’s three most popular parties.
Voting commenced at 7am local time (0500 GMT) and is expected to close at 7pm.
According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), more than one million Basotho are registered to vote in the elections.
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Outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu of the Democratic Congress party is in a close race against his current coalition partner Nkaku Kabi of the All Basotho Convention and businessman-turned-politician Sam Matekane of the Revolution for Prosperity.
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Lesotho’s King Letsie III presides over a constitutional monarchy but has virtually no political power. Whichever party wins enough representatives in Lesotho’s 120-seat National Assembly to form a government will select the new prime minister. With so many parties contesting the election, a coalition is very likely, say experts. – The Maravi Post
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Lesotho votes in election with political crisis still unresolved
Lesotho citizens were due to vote in an election on Friday, after years of political instability that the southern African mountain kingdom’s lawmakers have yet to resolve.
The election will go ahead despite a deadlock in parliament on a whole gamut of major constitutional reforms that were meant to be enacted ahead of the vote so as to bring order to Lesotho’s fractious politics.
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The All Basotho Convention (ABC) has run the country, with a population of 2.14 million, since 2017, but divisions within the party have given it two prime ministers over five years.
Defections have meanwhile left the party vulnerable to opposition rivals Democratic Congress (DC) or the new Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), led by businessman Sam Matekane.
“These elections will be highly contested and by the look of things the DC and RFP will be neck-and-neck,” said Lesotho political analyst Lefu Thaela. He added that DC are likely to get the most votes but if they don’t win an outright majority, the outgoing ABC will find themselves kingmakers. – Reuters.
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The All Basotho Convention (ABC) has run the country since 2017, but divisions within the party have given it two prime ministers over five years – one of whom, Thomas Thabane, stepped down in 2020 after being charged the murder of his ex-wife.
He denied any wrongdoing, and the charges were later dropped.
His successor – Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro – declared a state of emergency in August, after legislators failed to pass two bills meant to end political volatility in parliament. Last month, Lesotho’s highest court ruled the declaration unconstitutional.
The ABC has selected another leader, former health minister Nkaku Kabi, to contest the ticket, after he defeated Majoro in a party vote in February. – Reuters
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SADC urges restraint as Lesotho heads for elections
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. – APA
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Commonwealth urges peaceful process as observers take up duties for Lesotho elections
The Chairperson of the Commonwealth group assigned to observe the general elections in Lesotho has expressed his hopes for a peaceful process.
Former President of Seychelles, H.E. Danny Faure, echoed Secretary-General Patricia Scotland’s statement calling for a peaceful, credible, transparent and inclusive process as people go to the polls to write the next chapter of the story of their country. – The Commonwealth
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