2002 Elections puts Lesotho on track for democratic consolidation

Roger Southall, Executive Director, Democracy and Governance, Human Sciences Research Council, June 19, 2002

Lesotho's May 2002 election, which saw the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) sweep back to power, confirmed the disputed election result of 1998, highlighted the wisdom of the introduction of the new Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system, and recorded a victory for democracy and common-sense.

The LCD, led by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, secured a total of 77 out of the 118 seats competed for on election day with 55% of the votes cast. In contrast, the Basotho National Party (BNP, which ruled the country between 1965 and 1986) obtained 21 seats based on 21% of the votes, the Lesotho People's Congress (LPC, which had broken away from the LCD prior to the election) secured six seats based on just over 5% of the vote, and the National Independence Party won five seats, also on just over 5%. Three seats each were obtained by the Basutoland African Congress and the Basutoland Congress Party, and one apiece by the Popular Front for Democracy, the Lesotho Workers' Party, the Marematlou Freedom Party and the National Progressive Party. Seven other parties which contested the election were left unrepresented. By-elections will be contested in two constituencies where the constituency elections were postponed because of the death of candidates - and in all likelihood, these will be won by the LCD, taking it up to 79 seats in the 120 member National Assembly.

The extent of the LCD's victory retrospectively confirmed (if such confirmation was really necessary) the result of the 1998 election, which had been bitterly disputed after the event by the major opposition parties, notably the BNP and the BCP. It will be recalled that, just as the BCP (then led by Ntsu Mokhehle) had won 65 out of 65 seats (on 75% of the popular vote) in the 1993 election (which returned Lesotho to civilian from military rule), so the LCD - carved by Mokhehle out of the BCP when he had lost control of the latter's party machinery in 1997 - had taken 79 out of the now 80 seats, with 65% of the popular vote in 1998. These landslides had both been obtained on the back of the first-past-the-post electoral system because, rather than being clustered, the parties' support had been fairly evenly distributed throughout the country, leaving the winning party to claim victory throughout the constituencies.

In both cases, although the elections, which had been closely monitored by international and local observers, had been declared free and fair, the opposition parties had claimed that the result had been rigged. In 1998, following the election, their joint disbelief in the result had led the historically bitter rivals, the BNP and BCP, to forge an alliance of convenience which - by mobilising their supporters - had sought to lobby the King into declaring the contest null and void, and forcing a new contest. Given the inability of the LCD to secure the loyalty of the army and police (which were overwhelmingly inclined towards the BNP), the opposition alliance had been enabled to paralyse government. Hence it was that after it had lost control of the situation, the LCD had invited armed intervention by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to prevent what it termed a 'creeping coup'. Troops from South Africa and Botswana crossed the border in late September and disarmed the Lesotho Defence Force - although not before the LDF had put up a spirited fight and opposition supporters had reduced much of Maseru, the capital, and outlying towns to ashes in revenge.

The SADC intervention provided for a framework for reconciliation which was based on two explicit and one implicit element/s. Explicitly, it was agreed, first, that the LCD (which claimed an unambiguous mandate from the election) would retain its position as the government, whilst secondly, all twelve parties which had contested the election would send two delegates each to an Interim Political Authority (IPA) which would be charged with devising a new electoral system by May 2000. Implicitly, the SADC intervention provided the opportunity for the LCD to reform the security forces, whose alignment to the BNP had been at the root of numerous rebellious acts and disturbances following the return to civilian rule in 1993.